Wesley College

[EduCativ]

Wesley College is a Perth school home to approximately 1,300 students from pre-kindergarten to Year 12, including 160 boarders. The College is co-educational up to Year 6, then boys-only to Year 12, with a unique structure incorporating a middle school for the adolescent years. Although considered an elite private school, Wesley remains true to its founding egalitarian principles. The College’s iconic campus is in a stunning location on the Swan River banks, overlooking the City of Perth.

In Junior School and up to Year 6, we embrace the philosophy that co-education is essential for establishing social and emotional building blocks. Fundamental literacy and numeracy skills are explicitly taught, balanced with inquiry-based units to foster creativity and higher-order thinking. Junior School students at Wesley College have access to (and responsibility for) a thriving sustainability garden and, soon, a nature playground to contribute to students’ gross motor skills.

Wesley College’s unique structure incorporates a middle school for the adolescent years (Year 5 to 8), promoting self-confidence and a growing sense of responsibility, with a stimulating and rigorous academic program that includes some flexibility. When students transition to senior school (Year 9 to 12), various WACE and VET programs are available, taught by specialist teachers. Year 12 WACE results consistently demonstrate a strong academic culture and drive for every boy to reach his excellence level.

A Wesley education is focused on the whole child—head, heart, and hands. Our overarching aim is to support the development of balanced and well-adjusted young men, and women equipped to contribute and thrive, both locally and globally. We believe that every student has powerful capabilities, skills, and talents. Our goal is to support them in activating this potential in order to create their future.

A burgeoning body of literature tells us that a teacher’s teaching is the most influential school-based variable in improving student learning and achievement. At the same time, student learning and achievement are influenced primarily by many factors beyond a school’s sphere of influence (such as students’ abilities, socioeconomic advantage, parents’ education, and peers); what each teacher does in their classroom matters the learning of their students. Teachers and their teaching make a real difference.

We often do not remember what our favorite teacher, coach, or mentor said to us, but we always remember how they made us feel. This makes Wesley a ‘special’ place with an overwhelming sense of connection, engagement, and positive and meaningful relationships.

At Wesley, we focus on a holistic education that emphasizes the development of the well-balanced man or woman who is empowered and wants to go out into the world and make a positive difference. There are many points of difference at Wesley that contribute to making this a reality for our students, such as:

• Our Middle School structure (Years 5 to supporting students during adolescent years
• Our Junior School teaching philosophy is a balance of inquiry, play-based learning as well as direct instruction and mastery learning
• A unique geographical advantage that adds a village feel to the College
• Our Katitjin Program (a one-term off-campus immersion and experiential program) for Year 8 students
• Our focus on service, both in the curriculum as well as outside the classroom
• Our cheerful, solution-focused philosophy for pastoral care
• The co-educational nature of the primary years, up to Year 6
• Our breadth of course offerings in the Senior School years
• Our focus on the pursuit of excellence, to aim for your personal best every day
• A co-curricular program that has tremendous depth and breadth in all aspects of the arts, sport, culture, and service service
• Our Indigenous program
• Our proactive social and emotional life skills curriculum developed right through from Pre-kindergarten to Year 12.

We see it as our responsibility to provide numerous opportunities and programs for all community members to find meaning, enjoyment, and a sense of belonging and connection. A college based on Christian and Uniting Church beliefs and principles provides a beautiful foundation for the values and moral code that guides the community by changing societal values and norms.

Good teaching and learning are at the forefront of all that we do. It is sacred and at the core of collective thinking and resourcing. Every individual in the College has the right to learn and grow. Every lesson, every experience should be an opportunity to learn and develop, both inside and outside the classroom.

The motto, Audendo Atque Agendo ‘By daring and by doing,’ matches the student culture – that we allow our students to take calculated risks and learn from the outcomes.

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