Learning at our school

Find out more about what your child will learn at our school.

The NSW Education Standards Authority (NESA) is responsible for the curriculum, Kindergarten to Year 12, for all NSW schools.

For the high school years, NESA develops syllabuses for all subjects in 8 key learning areas:

• creative arts
• English
• human society and its environment (HSIE)
• languages
• mathematics
• personal development, health and physical education (PDHPE)
• science
• technological and applied studies (TAS).

NSW schools also offer special religious education and special education in ethics via approved providers, where available.

Like all NSW schools, we have developed teaching and learning programs to suit our local context and the needs of our students.

To learn more about the curriculum in NSW, visit:

• NSW Department of Education – key learning areas
• NESA’s Parent Guide – Schooling in NSW which provides information about learning stages, key learning areas and syllabuses
• NSW Department of Education policy – Curriculum planning and programming, assessing and reporting to parents K–12.

Stages of learning

There are 6 stages of learning from Kindergarten to Year 12. High school covers Stages 4 to 6.

• Stage 4 includes Years 7 and 8.
• Stage 5 includes Years 9 and 10.
• Stage 6 includes Years 11 and 12.

Bankstown Senior College (a Government Senior High School) is an adult learning environment.

The College provides the following courses:

• Preliminary and Higher School Certificate (HSC)
• Year 10
• Intensive English Classes (IEC)
• Certificate II in Spoken and Written English (CSWE) English For Further Study
• Mid Year Preparation Courses for Year 10 and the Preliminary Higher School Certificate
• Bankstown Tutorial Program (BTP) which aims to help students who have internalising behaviour and mental health issues.

The College specialises in supporting students who are:

• Re-entry both mature age and young adults, including those who have had interrupted formal education

• At risk of not completing formal education

• ESL learners including new arrivals needing intensive English support

• Part time

• In need of special individual support

And we support them through:

• A broad curriculum including: a full range of courses in all Key Learning Areas; Vocational Education (VET)  and easy access to TAFE Vocational Education courses(TVET)

• Quality teaching

• Team teaching, ESL support and learning assistance

• Extensive student welfare support structures

• Flexible delivery

• Access to technologies, resources and facilities

• International Student Support Program