Students the best judge of this Ballarat school’s success

Whether students aspire to be athletes, agronomists, teachers or take on the family farm, Ballarat Clarendon College has a strategy to help them reach their goals.

Ballarat Clarendon students are encouraged to pursue their “hearts' desire”.

As a school, Ballarat Clarendon College’s focus is to maximise students’ skills, knowledge and capabilities so that, at the end of their time at the school, when they stand on the threshold of their future, they can choose their “heart’s desire”. That is the measure of their success and it is the student who is best placed to determine whether the school has achieved this goal.

Principal David Shepherd said: “Wherever a child is in their journey, we are committed to the idea that they can learn and that we are here to make that happen. What energises our community is the conviction that whether a student is with us for 14 years or one year, when they leave our gates, they will be better able to pursue their heart’s desire, wherever that takes them.”

Mr Shepherd said the school recognised that few young people knew exactly what they want to be at an early age.

“Most need time to explore their options and reflect,” he said. “Knowing yourself and listening to your heart are essential starting points for pursuing your heart’s desire. At Clarendon, we value time for reflection.”

Clarendon’s Year 9 residential program is a perfect example of an opportunity for reflection.

From next year, each student in Year 9 will spend eight weeks living and learning in the residential program at Yuulong, west of Cape Otway. Apart from social skills developed through community living, students will gain physical, practical and outdoor knowledge and skills. The Yuulong program has the twin goals of students learning to know themselves and their potential, while considering some of the big questions about how humans can and should influence the world around them.

Mr Shepherd said the school’s focus was to ensure that students could confidently and purposefully pursue their chosen path, whether they aspired to be a medic, agronomist, sportsperson, teacher, winemaker or take on the family farm in the future.

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