Hellyer College is one of eight senior secondary (years 11-12) public education colleges in Tasmania, Australia. Hellyer College is the smallest (in terms of student numbers) college in Tasmania. Established in 1976, it provides academic and vocational training to around 700 students from around North-West Tasmania, including the West Coast, Circular Head and King Island. Hellyer College was named after Henry Hellyer, who was an explorer in north west Tasmania during the 1820s. In 2009 it became part of the Burnie Campus of the Tasmanian Academy (ex Hellyer College) and Burnie Campus of the Tasmanian Polytechnic (ex TAFE Burnie and Hellyer College).
Prior to 1990, Hellyer College catered for students wanting a university pathway (matriculation), and had between 450 and 500 students. Changes in the Australian unemployment laws and the ways in which students aged between 16-18 were able to obtain financial support meant the College began to offer a more comprehensive curriculum, including VET (Vocational Education and Training), to fit the broader range of students continuing on to years 11 and 12. Because of this and the high youth unemployment rate on the North West Coast of Tasmania, the student numbers at Hellyer College grew rapidly reaching a peak of around 1000 in 1995. Continuing decline in the number of school age students mean the College population has reduced to a now steady 700 over recent years. The College now prides itself on offering a range of subjects and courses that will allow any student to achieve their potential. The College has a very strong student support program, a range of extra-curricula activities and strong links into the local community.
The College provides accommodation on site for students attending from remote locations such as the West Coast, Circular Head and King Island.
The school magazine is called the Chanticleer,
The Mens' and Women's basketball teams have claimed multiple State Schools basketball championships, going on to represent the college at National level.
Teachers are referred to by their first name.
Each student has a support teacher, this teacher teaches them at least one class, and ideally has a free to match with the student. However as students change their classes this may change.
Hellyer College is situated on the same campus as the TAFE Tasmania (Burnie Campus) and 250m up the road from the Cradle Coast campus of the University of Tasmania, on Mooreville Road.
Contents |
Hellyer college uses a time tabling system called lines. There are six lines; to each line students can assign one class. On Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays all six lines are done, Tuesday lines 1,2,3 and Thursday lines 4,5,6. Typically year 11 students take five subjects, leaving one free line, which tend to be called 'frees' by the students and 'study lines' by the teachers.
During first term, Hellyer has 6 days called line days which are either the Tuesday or Thursday the line would normally occur on. The whole day is spend on that particular line. These days are often criticized, but allow many classes to do things they otherwise couldn't do. This includes things such as excursions, and many English classes watch the movie of the text they are studying on these days. They may or may not end at the normal 3:00pm finish.