Boys need to develop quality relationships with their teachers
At St Edmund’s, we know our boys personally. With our major intake coming in at Year 4 and Year 7, our students will enjoy up to a nine year school-based relationship with the College, and most go on to be a part of our Alumni and can call themselves ‘Old Boys’. Strong bonds are developed over these years and our vertical Pastoral Care system reinforces our concern for the continuity of care for each student at the College.
Boys need to have a sense of place and community at school
St Edmund’s has been nurturing our community for 67 years. We have an enduring commitment to ensure that membership within our College community continues indefinitely for former staff, students and their families. St Edmund’s maintains these networks through groups and committees such as the ‘Old Boys’ and ‘Edmums’.
The relevance of what they are learning is particularly important to boys
Our curriculum continually evolves to reflect changing academic, career and trade opportunities. Our students are offered a wide variety of subject options and throughout High School encouraged to try new subjects to broaden their social and academic outlook.
Boys need male role models
And, it is important for boys to see both men and women in positions of power, responsibility and Pastoral Care. At St Edmund’s we are careful to ensure an equal gender balance of male and female staff.
Writing can be a problem for boys
They need to talk through a project first before beginning to write. At St Edmund’s, all learning is relational. Students are continuously engaged in discussion amongst each other and guided by staff regarding every task prior to commencement. Staff are eager to ensure the success of our boys and so ensure ongoing conversations occur regarding classwork and tasks.
Boys need a sense of empowerment and engagement at school with many opportunities for success
We offer our boys an extensive choice of subjects, a wide variety of co-curricular options, both sporting and cultural, and the opportunity to engage with the community through social justice programs.
Student Leadership is a key element to the College. Students are first and foremost leaders of themselves and their actions. Higher leadership positions are offered across all year groups and students assigned or elected to these positions ensure the student voice is considered in many school decisions.
Boys must keep connected with nature
Students at St Edmund’s College have the opportunity to attend camps and retreats at various points throughout their schooling. Our camps and retreats are designed to positively impact on the lives our boys both in and out of the classroom through exciting activities and challenges that activate key learning in:
- Prayer and reflection
- Communication
- Decision making
- Problem solving
- Resilience
- Team building and
- Leadership.
Our year-based, age-appropriate camp and retreat programs targets key developmental stages. It is very important for a boys’ school to offer a staged camp and retreat program, as research tells us that these experiences are integral to the positive development of young males. This becomes more relevant as we move further along our contemporary age and we tend to lose more of our experiences of rites of passage. Our young men are increasingly engaging in risk-taking behaviours, often feel unseen and lost and are increasing relying on the internet to make their transition during adolescence. A strong camp and retreat program allows our students the opportunities to see themselves as belonging to part of a tangible community, allows them to share experiences that they would otherwise not experience in their lives and allows them to discern their relationships with each other.
The Year 12 retreat broadens this further by asking our young men to discern their place in the world, with their families and with their sense of spirituality. This provides an ideal opportunity to allow time for quiet reflection as well as group sessions and recreational activities. The retreat is facilitated by staff from St Edmund’s.
The camp and retreat programs mark a journey of personal and communal growth and allows our students to experience a sense of rites of passage. When we add to this the range of other pastoral and co-curricular experiences offered by the College throughout the year, we have a rich program of rituals and experiences which should work to having our young men transition from one stage of awareness to a more enlightened state of self-consciousness and spiritual consciousness so as to achieve their full potential.
Boys do well in the Arts and Performing Arts at single gender schools where they feel less likely to feel different from the other participants
St Edmund’s values the talents of all boys. Students are encouraged to participate in College productions, musical groups and clubs that develop skills in the Arts. Students are able to learn about backstage productions including sound and lighting and stage development.
Students at St Edmund’s College are obligated to represent their school in some form of co-curricular activity. The College offers a diverse range of both sporting and cultural co-curricular activities that encourage each student’s personal development. Our students learn teamwork; the art of winning and losing gracefully; to understand that everything improves through practice and; how to work towards personal goals.