Education in Tasmania

The education system in Tasmania comprises two tertiary education institutions; the government run K-12 schooling system, and numerous independent private schools and colleges, most of which are controlled or sponsored by religious organisations. Public education in Tasmania is managed primarily by the State Government's Department of Education. The Department is responsible for all aspects of education in Tasmania including schooling, Adult Education, the State Library and TasTAFE, a vocational tertiary institution with many campuses around the state.

See Education in Australia for an overview of the national system.

History

Christ College 1846-1856, Bishopsbourne

The oldest tertiary institution to be founded in Australia was the theological school Christ College in Bishopsbourne, Tasmania, in 1846.^[2] Today Christ College is a residential college of the University of Tasmania, which was founded in 1890, making the university the fourth oldest in the country.^[3]

In 1868 Tasmania became the first state to introduce compulsory education.^[4] In 1885 the Tasmanian Department of Education was founded under the Education Act 1885 (Tas), the fifth Australian colony to do so.^[5] In 1908 school fees for compulsory education were abolished, the last state to do so.^[6]

Primary education

Unlike all other Australian states, primary and secondary education in Tasmania is a three-tiered system, instead of a two-tiered system. School are broken up into Primary, High school and College components.^[7] Students begin their first year of school (preparatory) in the year the child will turn six years of age.^[8] They spend seven years in primary school before progressing to secondary education, like other states.^[9]

Secondary education

St Mary's College in Hobart

Similarly to other states, years 11 and 12 students can obtain the Tasmanian Certificate of Education (TCE) or can complete Vocational Education Training.^[10][11] Yet unlike other states, Tasmania has separate schools, called colleges, for the final two years. Years 7-10 are undertaken at high schools, although district schools and many nongovernment schools combine primary, high school, and college education together, depending on the needs of the school.^[12]

There has been much of criticism of this system of education as only half of year 10 students will go on to college and complete their secondary education.^[13] Furthermore, 50% of the state is classified as functionally illiterate, and more than half of the state's teenagers fall below the national baseline for maths.^[14] Students who do not live near a college, which are all located in Hobart, Launceston, Devonport and Burnie, are frequently required to board to obtain their TCE, forcing many 16 year olds to leave home.^[15] However, recent changes by the Tasmanian government has led to a push to make regional high schools offer TCE subjects.^[16]

High school

High schools teach students from years 7 to 10.

Colleges

In Tasmania, colleges only cater for year 11 and 12 students.^[41] There are eight government colleges in Tasmania, and one private.

Other non-government schools

There are many non-government schools in Tasmania. Non-government schools generally have a religious affiliation, although the involvement of the sponsoring organisation varies between schools. The following schools differ in the format of public schools and offer a range of year levels. The following non-government schools offer secondary education.

List of non-government schools offering secondary education in Tasmania
Crest	School	Est.	Location	Enrol.	Type
	Calvin Christian School	1962	Hobart	468	K-12, co-ed, Christian[51]
	Circular Head Christian School	1985	Smithton	333	K-12, co-ed, Christian[52]
	Dominic College	1973	Hobart	877[53]	K-10, co-ed, Catholic
	Eastside Lutheran College	1982	Hobart	140[54]	P-10, co-ed, Lutheran
	Emmanuel Christian School	1979	Hobart	142[55]	P-10, co-ed, Christian
	Fahan School	1935	Hobart	365[56]	K-12, girls, ecumenical
	The Friends' School	1887	Hobart	1263[57]	K-12, co-ed, Quaker
	Geneva Christian College	1967	Latrobe	164[58]	P-12, co-ed, Christian
	Hilliard Christian School	1901	Hobart	110[59]	P-10, co-ed, Seventh Day Adventist
	The Hutchins School	1846	Hobart	999[60]	K-12, boys, Anglican
	Launceston Christian School	1976	Launceston	607[61]	P-12, co-ed, Ecumenical
	Launceston Church Grammar School	1846	Launceston	691[62]	K-12, co-ed, Anglican
	Leighland Christian School	1976	Ulverstone	564[63]	P-12, co-ed, Ecumenical
	Marist Regional College	1972	Burnie	796[64]	7-12, co-ed, Catholic
	Mount Carmel College	1942	Hobart	525[65]	K-10, girls, Catholic
	Newstead Christian School	1942	Launceston	77[66]	P-10, co-ed, Christian
	Sacred Heart College	1888	Hobart	890[67]	K-12, co-ed, Catholic
	Scotch Oakburn College	1886	Launceston	984[68]	K-12, co-ed, Uniting
	Southern Christian College	1986	Hobart	248 [69]	P-10, co-ed, Ecumenical
	Star of the Sea College	1957	George Town	147[70]	P-10, co-ed, Catholic
	St Aloysius Catholic College	1960	Hobart	816 [71]	K-10, co-ed, Catholic
	St Brendan-Shaw College	1981	Devonport	713[72]	7-12, co-ed, Catholic
	St James Catholic College	1962	Cygnet	242	P-10, co-ed, Catholic[73]
	St Mary's College	1868	Hobart	835[74]	K-12, girls, Catholic
	St Michael's Collegiate School	1892	Hobart	696[75]	K-12, girls, Anglican
	St Patrick's College	1919	Launceston	1474[76]	7-12, co-ed, Catholic
	St Virgil's College	1911	Hobart	748[77]	3-10, boys, Catholic
	Tarremah Steiner School	1988	Hobart	223[78]	P-10, co-ed, Steiner

District schools

In Tasmania there are 26 district schools or district high schools. These are schools in rural areas where primary and secondary education are taught on a single campus, usually ranging from kindergarten to Year 10 (K-10).

Homeschool education

Tasmania has an active Homeschooling community. Homeschool families in Tasmania must be registered with the Tasmanian Home Education Advisory Council (THEAC), which is an advisory and monitoring board which reports to the Minister for Education. In 2012 there were 660 homeschooling students registered in Tasmania, giving Tasmania the highest ratio of homeschooled students to students in traditional schools (6.4 per 1000 children) in Australia.^[99]

Tertiary education

The largest public education institution in Tasmania is the University of Tasmania, with major campuses at Newnham (in Launceston) and Sandy Bay (in Hobart), along with a north-west centre in Burnie. TasTAFE (formerly known as TAFE Tasmania) also offers Tertiary qualifications across multiple locations within Tasmania.

See also

• List of schools in Tasmania
• Department of Education (Tasmania)

References

External links

• Tasmanian Department of Education