Haileybury teacher Jan Bruder discusses the VCE with Chinese teachers Sabrina Li and Senny Zhang.By Nathan Johnston
STUDENTS at six high schools in China are studying the Victorian Certificate of Education (VCE) to help them secure university placements in Australia.
The visit is part of a VCE export program established by Haileybury in 2002.
A delegation of Chinese teachers and students arrived at Haileybury’s Keysborough campus last week to learn more about VCE teaching methods.
The delegation included 30 students and 10 teachers from Li Hui Li High School in Ningbo, the Shude Middle School of Chengdu (Sichuan) and the Qingdao No.19 Middle School in China.
The program begins with a fourweek training course to be completed at Haileybury by teachers from the participating schools.
The teachers then return to China where they are supported by a longdistance mentorship program involving weekly internet contact, a dedicated website, and regular visits by the Haileybury mentors to the schools.
An intensive oneyear English program delivered by an Australian teacher prepares the students at the Chinese schools for the VCE studies. Their own teachers, under Haileybury’s supervision, then deliver the VCE to students.
Students will be awarded the VCE upon completion of the course.
Pioneer of the program and Haileybury viceprincipal Nicholas Dwyer said the Victorian VCE opens a pathway for Chinese students into Victorian universities.
“For most students in China, coming to an Australian high school is not an option, as costs are very high.
“A VCE from their local high school, however, is a much more affordable pathway to Australian universities.
“By teaching the VCE in China, Chinese students and their schools will benefit from the introduction of a world class curriculum, assessment and teaching practice,” Mr Dwyer said.
“The project delivers clear benefits to both the Chinese and Australian schools. It is a good example for schools of how Victoria’s intellectual capital base can be used to generate export income and opportunities for Australia.
“The economic benefits as well as the role of education in strengthening Victoria’s place on the international stage cannot be overestimated,” he said.
The VCE will be taught in English in parallel with the Chinese National Senior School Certificate as a bilingual program within the school.
VCE assessment will be conducted in a basic Year 12 VCE course of five subjects, which have been chosen so they dovetail into the Chinese curriculum.
Subjects include Chinese, English as a Second Language, Mathematics Methods, Chemistry and Physics. Other subjects may be added at a later stage.
