Department of Education - Victoria

Belmont High School is a large single campus co-educational secondary school south of the Barwon River in the regional city of Geelong with enrolments of 1225.2 students in 2023. We share boundaries with Roslyn Primary School and the Barwon Valley School (a specialist setting) and have had increasing cooperation and sharing with both in recent years. Camp programs operate at the school owned Tanybryn Campsite in the beautiful Otway Ranges.  We have onsite access to BioLAB (the Victorian BioScience Education Centre) that specializes in human performance and sport.

A vertical House (pastoral care) system operates for all year levels and is pivotal in delivering management, leadership and wellbeing for students and teachers. The Year 9 Strive Program also supports pastoral care for students with the provision of a significant teacher, and community and pathways based curriculum, as well as a camping program.  We are an RTO to support the delivery of VET programs at the school for our own and other school students and offer students VCE and VCE Vocational Major programs.

Significant leadership opportunities for students at both junior and senior levels of the school exist and an extensive co-curricular program supported by teachers exists to value add to students¿ experiences. This includes many opportunities for overseas travel increasingly with a community focus, including World Challenge. The school has also consistently been the top school in the Geelong region in inter school carnivals and team sport and has a very large and successful music and performance program.

The student population has become more culturally diverse over the past five years. The international student program adds to the cultural mix with students beginning their study in Australia with a school based EAL program in our English Language Centre prior to studying at appropriate year levels with mainstream students

We have experienced continued growth in enrolments as a result of interest in our programs, and pathways at the senior end of the school as well as our growing international fee paying program.  

The school is accredited to offer a Select Entry Accelerated Learning Program, which has now operated for a number of years, and the school operates a student support centre for funded and unfunded students who require additional literacy and numeracy support. The Middle Years program caters for students in Years 7 and 8 and provides an innovative and engaging curriculum and pedagogy with a literacy and numeracy focus and individual learning plans for students.  We offer two languages (Italian and Indonesian) both of which are growing in enrolment and both of which have sister school partnerships that see reciprocal visits.

A small but active parent association conduct monthly meetings that see guest speakers from program areas in the school give regular presentations, and our School Council regularly sees the need for an election. To support our students we employ a Mental Health Practitioner as part of our Student Wellbeing Team.

The Leadership consists of the Principal and 3 Assistant Principals with discrete portfolios and 16 Educational Leaders ¿ 8 House Leaders, 5 Leaders of Learning and 3 learning specialist. All Educational Leaders have a shared responsibility for addressing the goals of the AIP and SSP.

SC1    Demonstrated knowledge of the relevant curriculum, including the capacity to incorporate the teaching of literacy and numeracy skills. Demonstrated capacity to respond to student learning needs.

SC2    Demonstrated capacity to implement high impact teaching strategies, guided by how students learn, and evaluate the impact of learning and teaching programs on student learning growth. 

SC3    Demonstrated capacity to monitor and assess student learning. Demonstrated capacity to use data to inform teaching practice and to provide feedback on student learning growth and achievement to students and parents.

SC4    Demonstrated interpersonal and communication skills. Demonstrated capacity to establish and maintain collaborative relationships with students, parents, colleagues and the broader school community to support student learning, wellbeing and engagement.    

SC5    Demonstrated behaviours and attitudes consistent with Department values. Demonstrated capacity to reflect upon practice and engage in professional learning to continually improve the quality of teaching.