We educate hearts and minds, preparing our girls to realise their potential and raise their voices; to take on the world as compassionate and caring learners, citizens and leaders.
Our flexible and holistic educational model supports and challenges every student as they endeavour to fulfil their potential and seek their personal best with courage and integrity.
Our learning programs equip our girls with the knowledge, skills, competencies and values to successfully participate in a complex and globalised world as independent and informed citizens and learners who are critical and compassionate thinkers, responsible for their own learning, both now and in the future.
Our school-wide Culture of Thinking promotes deep learning, questioning and curiosity as students develop the confidence to navigate unfamiliar contexts and dispositions to flourish in their chosen endeavours. Having worked closely with Dr Ron Ritchhart as academic-in-residence we continue to build a learning culture where collective and individual thinking is valued, visible, and actively promoted as part of the day-to-day experience of all students and staff.
Transition, Engagement and Personal Potential
In Years 7 and 8 our students engage in a rich and broad learning program as they transition to the Senior School. Catering for the changing emotional, social, physical and academic needs of each student, we continue to support all students to develop as lifelong learners, realise their personal potential and challenge themselves.
Our Year 7 and 8 learning program provides the opportunity for students to develop knowledge, skills and understanding within each discipline and across learning areas (interdisciplinary) as well as fostering complex competencies such as collaboration, communication, and critical thinking. All students undertake a core curriculum that provides a solid foundation for their academic journey throughout the Senior School and beyond, with a range of opportunities for student choice and agency.
Within the core curriculum students study one language (French or Mandarin) throughout Years 7 and 8, providing time for deep learning and engagement in the process of language learning. In Year 7 Language and Mathematics classes, students are grouped flexibly ensuring that each student is provided with the support and challenge which best meets their needs as a learner as they transition to Senior School. From Year 8 onwards, there is the opportunity for some students to join a class in Advanced Mathematics, French and Mandarin.
An important component of the transition to Senior School at Ruyton is our bespoke Year 7 Innovate-Ed program. It offers all students the opportunity to select from a range of semester long electives focused on social issues, entrepreneurship, science and engineering, digital technology, and robotics. Through a project-based interdisciplinary learning approach, students are encouraged and supported to take risks in their learning and further develop their creative and critical thinking skills.
Students in Years 7 and 8 have timetabled FLEX lessons. Students use this time to continue learning tasks, revise for an upcoming assessment, seek assistance from a subject teacher or schedule a music lesson. Our FLEX model supports students to develop effective independent learning and organisational skills and manage their curricular and co-curricular commitments.
Learning is extended beyond the classroom in Year 7 and 8 through our outdoor education program. Supporting transition and based on a challenge by choice model, this experiential program focusses on developing a deeper understanding of oneself, building teamwork and fostering key outdoor skills, while connecting with our environment and local and regional communities.
Challenge, Choice and Flexibility
In Years 9 and 10, our students experience challenge, choice, and flexibility through a combination of core and elective learning programs. This approach provides a personalised learning experience for every student as they discover and explore their strengths, passions and pathways into VCE and beyond.
Our core curriculum at Year 9 and 10 encompasses the learning areas of English, Mathematics, Science, History, Languages, and Health and Physical Education. Within a number of these learning areas there are different learning pathways, to meet the needs of each learner and provide appropriate academic challenge and support. In Year 9, students may choose to continue their studies in French or Mandarin, or alternatively undertake a Spanish Language and Culture program. Our extensive interdisciplinary elective program offers experiential learning across Year 9 and 10 and is designed around four key learning areas: Creativity, Discovery, Enterprise and Global Citizenship.
Year 9 and 10 students are supported by the Careers and Course Counselling team, alongside Wellbeing and Academic staff to select electives that personally engage, challenge and inspire them. The elective model allows students to take risks and experience new learning, while providing balanced and rigorous learning experiences and a solid academic foundation for their VCE years.
In Year 10, students can undertake a range of VCE Unit 1/2 subjects across the Arts, Science, and Physical Education within the elective program. Students who have undertaken Advanced Mathematics, French and Mandarin in Years 7 to 9 may also undertake a Unit 1/2 subject in Year 10 in these learning areas.
In Year 9, all students are invited to join the MyScholar Program, the culminating stage of our InspireMe program. Embedded within the elective program, students who select this program actively target their development of complex competencies though a credentialing curriculum, designing and implementing their own authentic immersion experience to deepen their understanding of their chosen area of focus. In Year 10, students in the MyScholar program undertake a deeper exploration of an area of interest under the guidance of a mentor.
Our Year 9 and 10 outdoor education and immersive experiences program further extend challenge by choice, as our students engage with grit and perseverance in a range of local, interstate and global opportunities. This encourages personal growth through broadening horizons and building both resilience and independence. Students can gain micro credentials through the globally recognised Duke of Edinburgh program.
Personal Pathways, Academic Rigour and the Coordinate Program
In Years 11 and 12, all students undertake the Victorian Certificate of Education (VCE) for Senior Secondary students (Years 10-12). This considered decision was made with the knowledge that the VCE is an internationally recognised and valued qualification that provides a comprehensive, rigorous and balanced contemporary curriculum.
The VCE Baccalaureate provides an additional form of recognition for many Ruyton students who choose to undertake the demands of a higher-level mathematics and a language in their VCE program of study.
Ruyton offers a broad and diverse range of VCE subjects to support the development our girls’ individual talents, supporting them to specialise in areas of interest while challenging them with academic rigour. Students are also able to access a number of VET courses through external providers, the Coordinate Program with Trinity Grammar School, as well as university enhancement studies through tertiary institutions including the University of Melbourne. Our students are supported in the subject selection process to ensure that their VCE pathway provides them with a challenging and engaging academic program where they can achieve their personal best, enables them to meet the appropriate prerequisites for their aspirations beyond secondary school, and develops courageous lifelong learners.
Students have the opportunity to continue the MyScholar program in Years 11 and 12, completing a capstone project either through the VCE Extended Investigation subject or in addition to their VCE program. This academically challenging signature program enables students to undertake an in-depth investigation into an area of personal interest, fostering the development of advanced research, writing and presentation skills. Students develop a research question and work with a mentor to develop an original, independent research paper, providing academic freedom and individualised guidance. Students hone valuable skills including intellectual courage, analytical intelligence, academic communication, and resilience. It also an opportunity for students to demonstrate their exceptional talent to prospective tertiary institutions.
Our Year 11 and 12 outdoor education program adopts a leadership and future-focused lens, preparing students for life beyond Ruyton. Year 11 students engage in a program to understand themselves as future leaders and develop collaborative and diverse leadership approaches. Year 12 students prepare to transition to tertiary studies and work. In addition, local and global opportunities are fostered through immersive experiences, extending student networks and broadening perspectives.
