By Robyn Grace and Caroline Schelle
There aren’t many high schools where students are likely to run into their principal in the surf.
But for teens at Surf Coast Secondary College, where school values make up the acronym “SURF” and sports houses reflect different coastal breaks, perhaps it’s to be expected.
Surf Coast Secondary College acting principal Shane Elevato with students (from left) Maggie O’Brien, Will Wyllie, Nainoa Le Nevez and Thorson Crawley.Credit: Jason South
Acting principal Shane Elevato rarely gets a quiet moment among the waves of Torquay.
“They usually tease me because they’re better surfers than me,” he says of his students.
But it’s more than just beach vibes at Surf Coast Secondary.
The college has been awarded The Age’s 2024 Schools that Excel winner for rural/regional government schools due to the improvement its VCE results have shown over the past decade.
The annual series celebrates schools that achieve outstanding advancement in their VCE results.
You can explore a decade of VCE results data for your high school and view the full list of winning schools using this year’s Schools that Excel dashboard:
Surf Coast Secondary College’s median study score last year hit 29 for the second year in a row, up from 25 in 2016. The percentage of students with a study score of 40 or above reached 3.9 per cent last year and has also been steadily increasing, up from 1.7 per cent in 2016.
Surf Coast has grown over the past decade. In 2014, there were 51 students doing year 12 subjects; in 2023, there were 206.
The population surge has allowed the school to grow with its community, accommodating interests to inspire students to follow their passions and achieve better results.
The architect-designed buildings house not only normal classes, but academies for surfing, sports, arts and, more recently, extreme sports like skateboarding and mountain biking.
A Coastal Environment Centre has tanks with at least 100 animals of different species, including spiny globefish, big-belly seahorses and a rock lobster that occasionally sheds its exoskeleton.
Classrooms are lined with individual artist studios; community sports facilities are so close, they’re considered practically part of the school grounds. Literacy is a core component of all subjects.
Elevato at the school’s Coastal Environment Centre.Credit: Simon Schluter
Students begin each day with their learning advocates, a 10-minute session with a nominated teacher to help them “tune in” for learning.
Senior students are also offered English assistance from a former chief examiner, after-school tuition from teachers and practice exams in the September school holidays.
Surf Coast is quickly becoming the chosen school for students who would previously have travelled to Geelong.
“Young people in Torquay should not have to travel an hour on the bus each way to and from school to access world-class education,” Elevato says. “It’s our mission to bring world-class education to this community.”
Marian College principal Carmel Barker says students and teachers improved the school’s results by working together.Credit: Simon Schluter
Meanwhile, at Ararat’s Marian College, it’s important for students and teachers to know they are part of the story of the school founded by nuns in the 1880s.
“It’s making sure that everybody knows they’re part of the next chapter of the story, and to make sure we keep building on it,” the Catholic school’s principal, Carmel Barker, said.
In the school’s latest chapter, the percentage of students with a study score of 40 or above leapt to 6.6 per cent, a 10-year high. The school’s median study score is steadily improving, reaching 29 in 2022 and 2023, an increase from 26 in 2014.
The school has been awarded The Age’s 2024 Schools that Excel winner for independent schools in rural/regional Victoria.
Part of its key to success has been building up a culture of belief for staff and students, ensuring everyone at the school knows it is possible to succeed at a high level.
“It has to start with the staff – if staff don’t believe that you can achieve at high levels, then students aren’t going to believe it either,” Barker said.
As part of that process, teachers looked at structures within the school, researching ways to help students become more successful across all areas of their studies.
“I wanted staff very much to have a voice coming through as the ones at the front line, saying … what’s working across the school and what’s not,” Barker said.
That led to a change in the structure of the school day, with an earlier lunch break and hour-long periods so concepts could be explored better in class.
Marian College in Ararat. Credit: Simon Schluter
“We’ve found it brought a certain calmness to the day,” Barker said of the change.
Ensuring students were also supported outside of academics is also key for the school, with students attending weekly wellbeing sessions tailored for different year levels.
“Wellbeing and education go hand in hand,” the principal said.
This is something school captain Jaylen Stephens and year 12 student Theo Browne described as helpful during their final year.
Theo, 17, said the school wasn’t only about academics. “They prioritise how you are as a person, over getting good grades,” he said.
Jaylen agreed, adding the school made sure students did what was best for them.
Areas of wellbeing included dealing with artificial intelligence and navigating relationships.
“Success looks different for everyone but for us, it’s about making sure everybody is engaged and empowered with their own learning,” Barker said.
With Craig Butt
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