Yule Brook college turns the corner!

Yule Brook College in Western Australia were recently invited to speak at the 75th Annual WACSSO conference because of their inspiring results implementing Big Picture ideas. WACSSO represents the voice of parents and citizens within government schools in WA.

Principal Greg Lowry attended with one of Yule Brook’s students and his mum, Ben and Mary, and they spoke about Big Picture and what it had done for the community and for them.

“We were honoured to be asked to present. Ben spoke about his transition from class clown in primary school to being in the top 5% of his class with aspirations of becoming a teacher. Mary was proud of her son and it showed in her talk. Both of them spoke from the heart and the audience lapped it up. Over 300 delegates from across the state gave a very warm applause.” says Greg Lowry, Principal of Yule Brook College.

And with the results Yule Brook have achieved, we can see why!

In 2006 the majority of Year 8 students entered Yule Brook with below national benchmark scores in literacy and numeracy. Now, 80% are on the benchmark or above for maths, and 60% are on or above benchmark for reading, writing and spelling - a staggering result for any school - and especially impressive considering Yule Brook are in a low SES area, have a 46% Indigenous population, and were previously listed in the top 10 disadvantaged schools in WA.

“I am a very passionate advocate of Yule Brook College and Big Picture Education." says Greg. "The results achieved have turned my work around from one of some days dreading coming to school to address complaints and daily issues, to now being inspired by the achievements of the students and staff.”

By bringing in a system of restorative justice focussed on resolution rather than retribution bullying at Yule Brook has decreased, suspensions have dropped dramatically (from 300 days suspension in 2006 to 40 days in 2007), and attendance has risen (from 67-79%).

“We used to have a fight every day. Now we’re lucky to have 3 fights a year.” says Greg.

Yule Brook College is one of the first schools to have 100% of their students working in the Big Picture system and their results speak for themselves. Principals and teachers from TAFE’s and other high-schools visit Yule Brook regularly to see what they are doing.

“As teachers the pinnacle of our career is to make a profound difference in someone's life. With Big Picture Education a school can make a difference to a lot of peoples' lives and to help a community gain a new belief in the ability of themselves and their children. This is not just a pedagogy it is a belief structure that transcends the school boundaries to bring the community into the school. It is a collaborative model and a team commitment - and it works!” says Greg.


We’d like to congratulate Yule Brook on their success and we look forward to continuing to support their great work.


For more information about Yule Brook College’s journey you can download some recent newspaper articles below or purchase the "Yule Brook College: Big Ideas" DVD:

http://www.bigpicture.org.au/yulebrook-colleges-big-ideas