Cooks Hill Campus
Cnr Union and Laman Sts
Cooks Hill
New South Wales
2300
Phone: 02 4929-1663
School profile and context:
Cooks Hill Campus is a proud Public School of NSW, an annex to Newcastle High School offering a new design for secondary schooling in partnership with Big Picture Education. We operate from the student to the curriculum and not the other way around. This new innovation in the delivery of secondary education centres on the design distinguishers developed by the international Big Picture network. Through strong project based learning, we look to engage students in their strengths and interest.
As the first Greenfield site (start up site) in NSW, Cooks Hill Campus offers students in the Lower Hunter Valley the opportunity to engage in a different design of secondary education through project based learning. Students develop an individualised curriculum that is tailored to include their interests and passions. Parents and Carers play a key role in our Campus and are in the school at least 8 times a years for meaningful conversations around their child's learning.
Students still complete mandatory hours in the their subjects and our campus complies with all BOSTES and DoE requirements. Students can still obtain a ROSA and/or HSC. All students create a portfolio showcasing their learning journey which can be used to support employment or future studies. Through the small advisory size of one Advisor to 17 students, each student will design a unique learning path that encompasses the requirements of the curriculum set down by the DOE whist encouraging innovative delivery and design. Each student undertakes an internship where they work in the community one day a week. We call this 'leaving to learn'. Each Tuesday all students are involved in the community and finding out more about the world of work. This is an integral part of the design.
Program description:
Cooks Hill Campus caters for Years 9-12 and has 8 Advisories, with 136 students following individualised personalised learning plans. Each student creates opportunities to follow their passions and interests during the 4 years at our site. Each student leaves Cooks Hill Campus with a variety of skills and community connections.