Girls from St Catherine’s school claim their teacher failed to prepare them for HSC
A TOP Sydney private girls’ school has been forced into an embarrassing investigation into student claims their teacher failed to prepare them for the HSC.
NSW
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AN exclusive Sydney private girls’ school has been forced into an embarrassing investigation into student claims their teacher failed to properly prepare them for the HSC.
Nine recent graduates from St Catherine’s School in Waverley have appealed for extra marks in Engineering Studies, claiming they were given incomplete practice exams and never been shown a sheet of formulas that comes standard with every exam.
To add to the humiliation, this was the first time Engineering Studies had been offered at the school, which charges $33,826 for Year 12 tuition.
“We have undertaken an internal investigation and requested a meeting with inspectors from (NSW Education Standards Authority) NESA,” St Catherine’s School Head of Community Relations Marilyn Rickard said.
“St Catherine’s has also informed the Universities Admissions Centre (UAC) of the girls’ concerns so that this might be taken into consideration when determining their course eligibility.”
However, UAC, which calculates students’ weighted rankings when it comes to university admission, will not give the St Catherine’s School girls extra marks.
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NESA, formerly known as the Board of Studies, will instead write to universities, asking them to consider the girls’ claims when deciding whether or not to award them a place.
“Nobody wants the girls to be disadvantaged,” UAC Engagement Manager Kim Paino said.
“But all we can do is make the information available to the universities and it’s up to them if they want to take that into account.”
The school has also asked NESA to send independent investigators to help identify whether the teacher was in error and, if so, where.
When St Catherine’s, Australia’s oldest independent Anglican girls’ school, trumpeted the launch of Engineering Studies, a senior school spokeswoman was quoted as saying she hoped it would give students “every opportunity to succeed in their future and follow their passion” in Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths (STEM).
The HSC results will be released on December 14 and the Australian Tertiary Admission Rank (ATAR) will be released on December 15 and universities will make offers to students on December 21.
The St Catherine’s inquiry comes after Coonamble High School teacher Paul Withers was sacked in August for teaching the wrong maths course to HSC students.