Australian Capital Territory – Education

Almost all educational institutions in the Australian Capital Territory are located within Canberra. The ACT public education system schooling is normally split up into Pre-School, Primary School (K-6), High School (7-10) and College (11-12) followed by studies at university or TAFE. Many private high schools include years 11 and 12 and are referred to as colleges. Children are required to attend school until they turn 16 years old. Most suburbs are planned to include a primary school and schools are usually located near open areas for play and sports.

In February 2004 there were 140 public and non-governmental schools in Canberra; 96 were operated by the Government and 44 are non-Government. In 2005 there were 60,275 students in the ACT school system. 59.3% of the students were enrolled in government schools with the remaining 40.7% in non-government schools. There were 30,995 students in primary school, 19,211 in high school, 9,429 in college and a further 340 in special schools.

Students in years 11 to 12 attend college and normally study five to six courses over two years. Certificates are awarded on the basis of continuous assessment of students’ progress at the end of years 10 and 12 by the ACT Department of Education and Training. Year 12 students wishing to pursue tertiary study must sit the ACT Scaling Test (AST) as part of a required Tertiary Entrance Statement. The ACT Scaling Test is used to scale the results of schools relative to each other rather than affecting the marks of individuals directly. It is based on students’ general knowledge, critical and analytical skills. Traditionally students intending to pursue a trade have ended their schooling at the end of high school in order to take up an apprenticeship. In recent years it has become common for students with no tertiary education plans to continue through year 11 and 12 in an accredited scheme.

The ACT government supports home schooling through a policy entitled Registration of Home Schooling in the ACT (1987). In 2000 there were 100 registered home schooled students in the ACT, though there may have been up to another 400 students being home schooled but not registered with the government.

As of May 2004, 30% of people in the ACT aged 15–64 had a level of educational attainment equal to at least an bachelor’s degree, significantly higher that the national average of 19%. The two main tertiary institutions are the Australian National University (ANU) in Acton and the University of Canberra (UC) in Bruce. There are also two religious university campuses in Canberra: Signadou is a campus of the Australian Catholic University and St Mark’s Theological College is a campus of Charles Sturt University. The Australian International Hotel School offers degree and diploma level courses and operates the Hotel Kurrajong in Barton. Tertiary level vocational education is also available through the multi-campus Canberra Institute of Technology.

The Australian Defence Force Academy (ADFA) and the Royal Military College, Duntroon (RMC) are in the suburb of Campbell in Canberra’s inner northeast. ADFA teaches military undergraduates and postgraduates and is officially a campus of the University of New South Wales while Duntroon provides Australian Army Officer training.

The Academy of Interactive Entertainment (AIE) offers courses in computer game development and 3D animation.

Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Education_in_the_Australian_Capital_Territory