Examinations
VCE Units 3 and 4 examinations will be completed on Wednesday, 20 November. All examinations for Years 9–11 subjects have also now been completed and returned to students. I would like to thank all students for the way they conducted themselves throughout the examination period and the teachers who marked examinations and provided feedback in a timely manner. It is, of course, important that all students reflect on their examination performance and begin to set some strong academic goals for next year. If you feel that your child needs any help with the process of goal setting you should contact their relevant Head of Pre-Senior or Head of House in the first instance.
2025 academic year (Term 1A)
Haileybury’s 2025 academic year began on Monday, 18 November 2024, with all students beginning their 2025 classes. In most cases students began the day with the teacher who will take them throughout the year; however, in some instances teachers may change at the beginning of the new calendar year (January 2025). Haileybury does its best to limit these changes, but it is rare for teachers new to the school to be able to start in November of the previous school year. As such, some changes are unavoidable. Haileybury has been running this Term 1A program for 17 years as we believe that the extra teaching time provided gives our students a competitive advantage in their Units 3 and 4 studies in particular.
Year 12 2024 transition week
To conclude their year as Year 11s, our 2025 Year 12 cohort took part in a variety of transition sessions in preparation for the commencement of Term 1A. This group of students has experienced an incredibly challenging few years, so the week was an opportunity for the year level to come together and get excited about their final year of schooling.
Other sessions included a visit to various tertiary institutions that are popular with our students. Thank you to our Head of Careers, Catherine Johnson, for setting up these visits.
We look forward to them embarking on their new roles as leaders and mentors to the Senior School student body.
Year 10 work experience
Throughout the week beginning Monday, 11 November our Year 10 students completed four days of work experience. This was a wonderful chance for them to get a first-hand look at some of the industries that they may eventually like to work within.
For those students moving into Year 10 in 2025, a quick reminder that some of the best and most stimulating work experience places fill up very early in the year. If you have a dream placement that you would like to complete in 2025, make sure that you talk to your new Head of House early and obtain the necessary forms to send to your preferred employer.
The Haileybury Organ Scholars’ program
Learning the pipe organ, and becoming an organist, opens a whole world of international possibilities — unlike almost any other musical instrument. As each pipe organ is completely different, custom-made for the building in which it is housed, there is a large, supportive and active international community of people who not only play the organ but, as the Germans say, are ‘Orgelfreunde’ (friends of the organ)— people who, whilst they may not be organists themselves, love the instrument and are fascinated by it. These people are often at the forefront of many other professional endeavours: judges, lawyers, doctors, bankers and so on, all linked by a common passion for the pipe organ — an instrument which can give variety and extra-career interest to otherwise very intense and busy lives.
Our Organ Scholars program, established back in 2010 to celebrate 50 years of organ music at Haileybury, has now enabled dozens of young Haileyburians to make friends around the world and establish strong connections with professional colleagues in many different fields. For example, one of our widely travelled former organ scholars, now in his late 20s, has a career in medicine and made continuing friendships through the organ world from Moscow to Iceland, and from India to Paris.
Our most recent boys’ Senior Organ Scholar, Joshua (Year 12), won an Organ Scholarship to study at Oxford, which opens a whole new world of professional contact and collegiality — a world opened through the ‘king of instruments.’ After all, Mozart didn't say that lightly!
Remembrance Day
Keysborough Senior School marked the day with a minute of silence in the Frank Elmore Chapel Forecourt.
Dr Nicholas Grigsby
Deputy Principal
Head of Senior Schools
