Welcome to a whole new world of learning
The start of the 2023 school year will signal a new era here at Haileybury as our first students begin their journey with Haileybury Pangea.
Haileybury Pangea is the School’s fifth campus and Victoria’s first private online school. Its virtual classrooms will soon welcome students from Years 5 to 12 who will begin their journey to either complete the full school curriculum or undertake single VCE subjects.
This virtual campus is the first of its kind in both Victoria - and Australia. It has been developed based on years of research by Haileybury’s educators and the concept was explored long before the arrival of the pandemic highlighted the vast potential of online learning.
“Haileybury Pangea is about offering choice to students and families.”Derek Scott Haileybury CEO|Principal
“Options for education and access to Haileybury’s brilliant teachers should not be geographically restricted. There are many students and families who are seeking choice in how they learn because of where they happen to live or because of things they do outside school – they may be part of an elite sport or arts program and find it difficult to juggle school with those commitments,” says Mr Scott.
“Some students may find they are simply more suited to learning from home in smaller, virtual classrooms. While online learning doesn’t suit every child, we know there are students who will excel with this style of learning. Haileybury Pangea removes barriers and offers flexibility for students, families and teachers while providing an education that meets the very high standards that our school is renowned for.”
How does Haileybury Pangea work?
Haileybury Pangea will deliver learning online in small classes. The average school week includes a bespoke blend of live instruction, prepared video content, assessment tasks and one-on-one or small group-based time with subject teachers. Each subject offers two live online teaching periods each week, supported by three to six hours of self-paced learning and an extensive suite of online resources.
Students can enrol in the full curriculum and work towards completing their VCE, or there is the option to undertake single subjects and choose from one of the 23 VCE subjects on offer.
“Some subjects are difficult for schools to offer, either because they can’t find a teacher with the right knowledge, or there may not be enough students to make up a class. Students could enrol in a single VCE subject with Haileybury Pangea and supplement the VCE program they are studying in their bricks and mortar school,” says Mr Scott.
The flexibility offered by Haileybury Pangea also enables students who want to study a sixth VCE subject the option to fit that extra commitment into their school week.
“Because most of the learning is self-paced, students learn in their own time and fit their learning around other classes and commitments. I think it’s very important that education offers students choices in the pace and modality of their learning,” says Mr Scott.
Haileybury Pangea also uses a ‘stage not age’ approach to learning which is based on rigorous entrance testing. This allows high-achieving students to accelerate their learning and so stay engaged and challenged with their studies. For example, a year 7 student who is particularly strong in mathematics may join a Year 9 maths class if they have the capability.
Our New Haileybury Pangea Head of Campus
Haileybury Pangea is being led by Head of Campus, Joanna Baker, who has an extensive background in educational leadership, change and innovation in curriculum.
“I’m looking forward to meeting the diverse students who will be part of the School and to hearing their stories. There is a lot of excitement about Haileybury Pangea finally being available as a choice for young people.”Joanna Baker, Head of Campus
“Haileybury Pangea is an opportunity to be a leader in this space of excellent virtual education. It is an example of how a 130-year-old school like Haileybury is thinking about what comes next and how it can continue to learn and be better.”
Care and support continue at Haileybury Pangea
As with the bricks and mortar campuses, student wellbeing is paramount and parents or guardians complete a home learning environment checklist and a duty of care module to confirm they understand their responsibility to be at home and to supervise their child. While parents and carers don’t have to be in the same room as their child, the expectation is that someone will be available at home while their child attends the virtual campus.
Haileybury’s team of psychologists and advisors are also available to support students.
Technology has been specifically developed by Haileybury Pangea to streamline the online delivery of classes and resources and also to safeguard and monitor the security and confidentiality of students while they attend the virtual campus. Students sign an acceptable use policy and agree to appropriate behaviour while they attend Haileybury Pangea.
Camps and sport are not part of the core program at Haileybury Pangea and the $18K pa fee reflects this. However, in the future, additional on-campus opportunities will be offered, like summer school skill-building programs and graduation.
“Haileybury Pangea leverages the history and success of our school and reflects our focus on continuing to learn and be better. We thrive on changing the way in which we think about education for the good of every student,” says Mr Scott.
“American Elliott Masie, an educator and analyst acknowledged as the first person to use the term eLearning said: ‘We need to bring learning to people instead of people to learning.’
Online schools bring learning to people – no matter where they are in the world – and they offer endless opportunities for the students of today and tomorrow…”
2023 Enrolments for Haileybury Pangea are open until Monday, 31 October. To find out more about Haileybury Pangea, visit our website, enquire, register for our next virtual information session on Monday, 3 October or discover more in an online classroom experience on Thursday, 13 October.
