As Kingston State College celebrates 45 years since our official opening, we are proud of the excellent standard of secondary schooling across our two dynamic campuses - a 7 to 12 State High School and our Re-Engagement Centre - Kingston Learning College. This Re-Engagement Campus has gained an excellent reputation for success, using a quarterly model of enrolment and offering students the opportunity to complete one to three subjects and vocational educational training to transition from Years 9 to 12 and onto further pathways. Completion of the QLD Certificate of Education is a goal for each student at both campuses. This is combined with opportunities to complete an ATAR pathway aligned to QCAA guidelines also available at both campuses.
Our College is located in the suburb of Kingston in Logan City south of Brisbane, an expansive campus with excellent facilities. The demographic make-up of our students include: A high population of immigrants whose first language is not English, including 40% of students from Pacific Islander background; 14.5% of students from Indigenous background; Refugee students from Africa and the Middle East; 14% of students in Special Education and increased numbers "in care" situations.
From 2018 - 2021 the College's Strategic Plan has focused on the core priorities of Reading and Writing: Teacher Capacity; a revised Whole School Curriculum, Assessment and Reporting Plan; and Student Wellbeing and Community Engagement. These priorities are underpinned by excellent teaching and learning practice aligned to our School Vision 'Nothing Left to Chance' and our pedagogical framework, the New Art and Science of Teaching (ASOT) aligned with signature 'Lyn Sharratt' strategies.
Aligned with the Department of Education Policy platform 'Every child and every student succeeding.' Kingston State College's key partnerships, including Universities, local and State Governments, Business and Industry have strengthened over the past year. Our three most recent partners include entry to the Queensland Minerals and Energy Academy (QMEA), Civil Geotechnical Consultants and PFi Aerospace. These dynamic partnerships have progressed the STEM and Digital Pedagogy learning and teaching agendas, reshaping curriculum in Science, Robotics and Coding Curriculum.
Civil Geotechnical Consultants Pty Ltd (CGC) have also delivered much needed resources to the College during the height of the Pandemic providing the students with access to online learning with the donation of 45 iPads. The Australian Business Community Network also donated 90 Laptops to students at both Campuses. A member partner of ABCN further provided 12 month long pre-paid Optus sim cards for student use. These two valuable partners have provided essential learning tools for our students as they engaged with device–based online learning at home during such a critical time over the past two years.
The College also further extended its partnership with 'Education Perfect' - a project based on-line learning model allowing for a highly differentiated learning environment that individualises the learning of students. This is in line with the College's future orientated strategies which respond to the global technological climate in which we exist.
2020-2022 has continued to be an exciting and innovative time for Kingston State College as part of a network of 250 Independent Public Schools seeking innovative solutions to extend student learning. The key goals for Queensland Independent Schools are:
- to provide a critical mass for system wide improvement;
- to innovate, trial and share good practice across the state school system; and
- to provide greater accountability to their local community and the broader state school system through arrangements that value community participation.
Our story for 2022 will continue to be a year dedicated to enhancing student learning and opportunities across Academic Performance, the Arts and Sporting programs. Our innovative curriculum has included Coding and Robotics for all Year 7s and 8s in a specially resourced centre. Such innovation has been driven by the Digital Pedagogy and STEM Professional Learning Staff Teams. A further milestone for the College has been the further development of the ACE Academic Program for high performing students, the Student Athlete Academy and the Academy for Music Excellence.
What we do know is that the skills we deliver at Kingston State College over the next ten years will need to prepare students to be innovative global citizens. As education leaders, and teachers, the very pertinent question is how do we develop an effective whole school approach, building a portfolio of critical thinking skills and effective pedagogical techniques to navigate this world of the 21st Century.
With the redesign of the Senior Syllabuses, teachers can make a daily impact on developing the emerging skills our students will require in the future job market – helping students to become creative citizens capable of solving complex problems with resilience, tolerance and flexibility.