Teachers and students in Port Vila, Vanuatu are discovering the Australian education system and gaining valuable skills and career options thanks to a new partnership between Freedom School and one of Australia’s leading independent schools, Haileybury.
Teachers and students in Port Vila, Vanuatu, are discovering the Australian education system and gaining valuable skills and career options thanks to a new partnership between Freedom School and one of Australia’s leading independent schools.
Education experts from Haileybury in Melbourne are mentoring teachers in the Port Vila school to help them deliver a comprehensive Senior Secondary program.
In the near future, with Haileybury’s continued support, Freedom School may also become registered to deliver the internationally recognised and respected Victorian Certificate of Education (VCE).
The partnership is one of a number of similar projects that Haileybury is undertaking in the Pacific and Dr Stephan Muller, Haileybury Deputy Principal (Education Research & International), says the prestigious Australian school is keen to support other schools in the region.
“We are certainly interested in engaging further in the Pacific. For many years now, our teachers in Melbourne have been providing one-on-one support to teachers in Timor-Leste who deliver the VCE program there,” says Dr Muller.
“Our partnership with Freedom School is another program that we hope will bring benefits and open pathways for the young people studying at the school.”Dr. Stephan Muller, Deputy Principal (Education Research & International)
Freedom School is a school of over 300 students that offers classes for children aged 5 to 18. The school is keen to offer the best possible education standards to its students, which is why they have partnered with Haileybury.
The program builds on the long-standing engagement and support offered by the Victorian Curriculum and Assessment Authority (VCAA) in Vanuatu, and represents an important new level of cooperation with one of Australia’s leading independent schools.
Initially, a small number of students will benefit from the new Senior Secondary program, with numbers increasing to about 60 students across Years 10 to 12 in the coming years.
“Haileybury is offering direct peer-to-peer mentoring to the teachers in Vanuatu. They are in regular contact via email, WhatsApp and through video chats, and members of Haileybury’s teaching team visit the school too,” says Gary van den Elsen, Director, International VCE Program at Haileybury.
Mr van den Elsen has worked closely with staff at Freedom School to design and deliver the Senior Secondary program.
"The aim is to ensure that students graduate with a prestigious secondary school certificate that will gain them better local employment opportunities. They will be able to apply for clerical, administrative and managerial jobs across a wide range of industries and businesses. This helps build local economic capacity and contributes to local growth," says Mr van den Elsen.
“It has been a tremendous privilege to work with the dedicated staff at Freedom School and we are confident that their hard work, and that of their students, will lead to some excellent academic results.
“I look forward to seeing these talented young people graduating and using their new knowledge and skills to benefit their communities and country.”
For more information, please contact:
Dr Stephan Muller, Deputy Principal (Education Research & International)
stephan.muller@haileybury.vic.edu.au
+61 429 425 357
In the spirit of reconciliation, Haileybury acknowledges the Traditional Custodians of country throughout Australia and their connections to land, sea and community. We pay our respect to their elders past and present and extend that respect to all Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples today.
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