Our Senior School
The secondary years
Our vision is that Sacré Cœur Women Shape the World.
We are known as a school that fosters academic excellence and prepares students to enter university. We are proud of our outstanding VCE results and that we have been identified as the leading Catholic school in Victoria for university enrolments. Equally, we are enormously proud of those students who, through our carefully planned curriculum, caring environment, and atmosphere of serious study, achieve their personal best.
Further learning takes place through our comprehensive Cor Unum (One Heart) program. This pastoral program continues for the students’ time at Sacré Cœur and supports the wellbeing of all members of the community, an essential element for academic success.
Our Senior School is a dynamic and engaging place to learn and we invite you to browse further to find out more about the heart of each year level in the Senior School.
Year 7
Transition
At the heart of the Year 7 curriculum is transition.
Students are moving from a primary school setting into a setting which offers them a range of discrete subjects and opportunities. Our Year 7 students are offered a wide range of subjects and experiences which allow them to quickly become part of the Sacré Cœur community.
All students in Year 7 undertake the Victorian Curriculum which includes English, Mathematics, Science, Humanities as well as undertaking French and Japanese language classes. Girls are also encouraged to be creative studying Art, Music and Drama. Physical Education and Health form part of the Year 7 curriculum. Religious Education underpins all study and has a particular focus on the charism of the RSCJ.
Alongside the classroom curriculum is an experiential learning program which begins at Year 7 and continues through the compulsory years. At Year 7 this experiential learning takes the form of the Year 7 camp – an outdoor experience in Kinglake, Victoria. The experiential learning program enhances classroom learning through the application of skills gained from active learning. Year 7 staff are experienced in demonstrating how these skills can be applied to two seemingly different experiences, camp and school, for the best possible learning to take place.
Year 8
Exploring Melbourne!
City Cite, an urban educational experience, is the heart of Year 8 learning. In Year 8 our girls undertake a two week City Cite program. This program takes our students out of the classroom and into the city where they work in teams in an independent, multi disciplinary environment to answer a “big question”. This experience is supported before and after City Cite through the core curriculum and encourages motivation, empathy goal setting and effective communication.
City Cite encourages our students to continue with their experiential learning begun in Year 7 with their outdoor education camp at Kinglake. Our skilled staff are able to draw on this experiential learning to highlight to the girls how these different experiences have all accommodated the gathering of skills such as: Personal Organisation, Personal Responsibility, Social Competence, Achievement, Motivation and Leadership.
Year 9
Notre Monde
Our Notre Monde Program at Year 9, was designed specifically for Sacré Cœur students. It is a holistic program which builds on the academic tradition of the RSCJ and the experiential learning begun in Years 7 and 8. Notre Monde is a contemporary learning program based around four principles of learning – connection, agency, mastery and authenticity. This learning is collaborative, practical, creative and academically challenging. All Notre Monde students undertake the Victorian Curriculum as well as having the opportunity to elect some key areas of interest to study.
Year 10
Senior School
Year 10 is the year of choices with students following their hearts into a program that best fits their talents, interests and future goals.
The Victorian Curriculum framework concludes at Year 10 with a number of students electing to undertake the study of a VCE sequence.
A carefully planned Careers program prepares the students for full VCE, and ultimately for tertiary destinations. The Cor Unum program at Year 10 incorporates outdoor education, physical and mental health information, study skills, leadership training and responsible digital citizenship.
VCE
Subject and pathways
At the heart of the VCE at Sacré Cœur is a wide variety of subject offerings. Students choose from 28 VCE subjects from all faculty areas.
Our staff are experienced and committed and work in partnership with our girls to ensure they have every opportunity to achieve their aspirations. Our Careers Counsellors also prepare our senior students thoroughly for life beyond Sacré Cœur. The Government’s On Track data has shown our students to have the highest university retention rate of all Catholic schools in Victoria – an indication that they are truly lifelong learners.
Join us! Limited places are available in some year levels, including VCE.
For immediate enrolment enquiries or to book a tour, please contact our Admissions Manager.
Learning Enhancement
Extending and challenging
The Learning Enhancement Department is located in our Madeleine Sophie Barat Centre. The Centre was established to build a community of learners, thinkers, strivers, darers and dreamers.
The centre caters for:
- Extension, enrichment, specialisation and support, often in individual programs, to assist student progress.
- The needs of both highly able students and those students with specific learning support needs
Programs and units of work are designed to facilitate learning and to ensure that all students will be motivated by a variety of stimuli and teaching styles. The teachers involved are committed to providing a range of opportunities in which each student can optimise her learning.
International
International Network ANZNet
As a child of the Sacred Heart, you are never alone in the world.
When our students graduate, they are given a passport to the world in the form of a certificate that is their introduction to any Sacred Heart school or convent founded by the Society of the Sacred Heart in over 40 countries. The Society was founded by Saint Madeleine Sophie Barat in Paris in 1800 and its first school in Melbourne was opened in 1888. There are over 150 schools worldwide which share the educational philosophy of St Madeleine Sophie Barat and her early companions.
Students and staff at Sacré Cœur enjoy an unrivalled access to sister schools all over the world. The many benefits of this vast network include:
- Reciprocal immersions
- International immersion programs
- Study Tours
- Staff Professional Development
- Ongoing collaboration via internet and email
- World-wide celebration of traditions and cultural events
Here you will find links to some of our sister schools in Australia and around the world:
Australasia
- Network of Sacred Heart Schools (ANZNET)
- Kincoppal-Rose Bay, Sydney, Australia
- Stuartholme, Brisbane, Australia
- Baradene, Auckland, New Zealand
Worldwide
International opportunities
Being ‘internationally-minded’ has become a catchphrase for many schools, but for Sacré Cœur this has been the norm since its foundation in 1888 as one of over 150 Sacred Heart schools in over 40 countries. Few schools could boast the breadth of the international network that is available to the students of Sacré Cœur and the magnificent opportunities this brings.
The following International immersions are typically available to students in Year 11.
- Europe
- Japan (Year 10 students)
- USA
- Canada – Montreal and Nova Scotia
Find out more about international opportunities on the Global Connections page.