Education varies from school to school, state to state, and country to country. And Groves Christian College is no different. This school is in Queensland, Australia. They are not a college in the traditional American sense. The facility is an infant through High School teaching center. The school is broken up into three different campuses where the grade levels are called Phases.
Groves Christian College: Early Learning Center
This campus is where children begin their educational journey. The Early Learning Center is for children age 15 months to 5 years of age. Students complete the Early Phase at this location.
Early Phase – During this initial stage of schooling, children are introduced to community interaction with other kids and teachers. The school also includes in the learning process the early stages of reading, writing, and mathematics.
Campus 1
Traditionally, the three phases taught here would include Kinder through High School (excluding year 3-6)
Foundation Phase – Kinder through 2nd grade. Children begin a formal classroom education through this stage. Lessons are age-appropriate with activities in math, reading, writing, and interaction with peers. All lessons have a Christ-centered focus. Children are taught to take ownership of their education; this instills the values students need to progress through future phases.
Groves Christian College Campus 2
Traditionally Grades 3 through 6. After the Foundational Phase, students migrate over to Campus 2 for the next Phase, to return to Campus 1 for the final two stages.
Middle Phase – Grades 3 through 6. In addition to advancing skills a student learns in the Foundational phase, children are studying problem-solving skills. This is primarily evident in the math curriculum. Other subjects are added to the base to enrich a child’s education. Arts, Health, and PE are part of a student’s learning. They are also introduced to competing in team sports. Netball, Rugby, and Touch Football are a sample of what is available.
The Return to Campus 1
After a few years at Campus 2, students return to Campus1 to complete their final two stages.
Intermediate Phase – 7th grade through 9th; Jr. High. Adding to all the children are learning up till now, and advancing into the teen years, students are developing skills in community and working together and encouraging each other. During this Phase, students attend camps and excursions that challenge them physically and spiritually while learning to work as a team. Team sports are also part of the options available. Added opportunities are performing arts and extracurricular clubs.
Senior Phase – 10th grade, through 12th; High School. Pulling together everything a student has learned thus far, an educational path is laid. Here preparation for the next phase of life begins. Decisions about university options, career choices, and future work are confusing. GCC teaches students to make wise decisions through the education process in this Phase. Groves Christian College works alongside students to help them prepare for the future and realize their aspirations. This process develops a student’s Package Pathway.
Groves Christian College: Package Pathways
During the Senior Phase, students work toward their graduation certificate. All the while, they are on a career path that lines up with their future plans. There are three Package Pathways for students to follow.
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- Workforce Ready – This package is for those who plan to enter the workforce straight out of Groves Christian College. No further education or training is necessary other than on the job training that will come with your hired position.
- Uni-Ready – This package is for students who plan to attend a school of higher education. Their studies take them on a path that prepares them for university studies. They are ready for the workforce. However, their position requires an advanced studies degree to some level.
- Blended – The students in this package are also workforce ready, but their position may require a vocational certificate and not necessarily a university degree.
All three Package Pathways create a way for students to be ready for the world that awaits them with a solid education and a Christ-centered worldview.
Groves Christian College: The Final Word
While the differences between the structure of education, there is little difference between American and Australian learning. Both local Christian schooling and the education Groves Christian College provides are all Christ-centered. They both grow children into men and women of God through practical learning with Biblical emphasis. A Groves Christian College education endeavors to help students learn about God and themselves and how the two can make a difference in the world.
Jeff S Bray wrote this article.