Curriculum

The Curriculum at Orange Christian School caters for children from prekinder to Year 12. The school is divided into four sections based on the New South Wales curriculum and good teaching practice. These are Pre Kinder, the Primary School - Kindergarten to Year 6; the Middle School - Years 7 and 8; and the Senior High School which consists of Years 9 and 10 who are preparing for their School Certificate and Years 11 and 12 who are preparing for their Higher School Certificate.

Orange Christian School is registered by the NSW Board of Studies, which allows us to receive Government funding (except for pre kinder). Our curriculum and policies are inspected by the Board of Studies, enabling the school to offer the School Certificate and Higher School Certificate.

Prekinder

Play forms an important part in children’s development, particularly the development of motor skills, coordination, curiosity and cooperation with peers. Some play needs to be free and exploratory while some needs to be structured in order to teach awareness of time and the need to complete set tasks.

The pre-Kinder curriculum at OCS will involve, play, structured games, early literacy and pre-writing activities, early numeracy activities and cooperative learning activities. These are designed to prepare children for the new Kindergarten curriculum without being based on the concept of “accelerated education”, a concept that we do not support.

The Primary School

The Primary School is organised according to “Stages” as defined by the NSW Board of Studies. While Stage 1 is Kindergarten to Year 2 they are taught as separated grades, Stage 2 consists of Year 3 and 4 and Stage 3 consists of Year 5 and 6. The number of classes in each stage tends to vary from year to year, but generally we have 2 or 3 classes in each stage. We have adopted this structure because the curriculum is now organized in stage modules and we believe the flexibility and mixing of students across year levels enhances their educational experience.

The Primary School has developed its curriculum based on the NSW Board of Studies requirements, with a Christian perspective coming through in all curriculum areas. The school puts a strong emphasis on the development of literacy and numeracy skills and has adopted the Spalding approach to literacy which is a Language Arts Programme that stresses the importance of integrating the teaching of reading, writing, speaking and listening into other studies. It is designed to make sure children know the building blocks of the language, including a basic knowledge of phonics and grammar. We also teach Science; Human Society and its Environment which encompasses Geography, History and Humanities studies; Languages other than English; Personal Development, Physical Education and Health and Creative Arts encompassing Music, Art, Craft and Drama. Students in the primary school have access to computers both within the classroom and in a purpose built computer room. Computers are used across the curriculum as a tool for learning.

The Middle School

The Middle School consists of students in Years 7 and 8. Students of this age require a different curriculum structure than that provided by most High Schools. Students of this age value relationships highly and need to be valued by others. They also need their studies to be relevant and challenging in a practical way. Our Middle School has been set up with these criteria in mind.

The curriculum is divided into two main sections. Core Studies is organised into themes, or topics for each term, such as "Media". A mixed group of students from Year 7 and 8 study this topic from all aspects, crossing over the traditional subject barriers of Maths, English, Science and History, making their study more relevant as they apply skills they are learning in those subjects to investigate and serve God's world. Core Studies take up about one third of the week. Skills Studies, which comprise studies from the traditional subject areas, take up two thirds of the week. Children are grouped in separate Year 7 and 8 classes for these subjects. The curriculum also includes Design and Technology and Applied Studies. Study in a language other than English is mandatory at this Stage of schooling.

Senior Secondary School

Our Senior Secondary school consists of students in Years 9-12. Students at this age are beginning to think more seriously about life beyond school and particularly about career options. The curriculum is more rigorous and specialised and is geared towards preparing students to sit for external exams and to make informed and wise choices about their future.

At the Year 9-10 level students must study Maths, English, Science and History/Geography. They have elective choices of a number of courses arising from the Creative Arts, Foreign Languages, Design and Technology and Technological and Applied Studies Areas. Our performance in the school certificate over the years has been above the state average.

We have a growing number of students who are opting to continue further study to achieve the Higher School Certificate. We offer a wide range of standard and compressed courses to cover the requirements of preliminary (Year11) and HSC (Year 12) courses. Compressed subjects do this in a single year, allowing students to sit the HSC for that subject at the completion of Year 11. Our students who have sat for their HSC exams in compressed subjects have achieved pleasing results and a number of individual subject areas have been outstanding. On average, around 60% to 70% of our Year 12 graduates are offered university places each year.