At Blacktown Boys High School, we take Boys education seriously, applying innovative and challenging techniques to engage our students in their learning. Our teachers apply the latest methodologies to challenge our boys and to get the most out of them academically, culturally, and physically via specialist and sporting programs. An excellent school environment is one where boys can see the relevance of participation and achievement at school to their current and future lives. At Blacktown Boys High School, we aim to achieve this across all our classrooms and in all our lessons.
Our school is undergoing tremendous change, both physically and in the classroom, to encourage student engagement and to ensure our boys have the best facilities at hand from which they will be able to choose their educational pathways.
At Blacktown Boys High School, we view the classroom and aesthetics of the learning environment as prime motivators to engage boys in learning. The school has invested in the upgrade of its sporting facilities. The ovals are regularly maintained and topsoiled, the basketball courts have been resurfaced and a new volleyball court has been constructed. P.E. equipment is also being upgraded and replaced so that students get the most of their sporting facilities. Evidence on Boys Education suggests that boys need physical outlets, such as sport to thrive and be engaged in their learning. We have ensured that our boys have access to modern sporting equipment, facilities and programs ranging from table tennis through to cricket, football, and the martial arts. We also make available, the use of a gymnasium with training equipment.
Sport for boys is important, however, in addition to the upgrading of our sporting facilities, we have invested heavily in the upgrade of our technological assets. Over the past year, we have upgraded our three computer labs and have purchased laptops and charging equipment for all faculties. All rooms across the school are having old and dated projectors and screens replaced with new ones and the music faculty has benefited with new instruments and audio equipment for the sound studio. Boys are active Kinaesthetic and visual learners who thrive when stimulated and allowed to release their creative energy. Our science laboratories, kitchen and woodwork rooms are progressively being upgraded with new equipment and machinery such as fume cupboards, lathes, 3D printers and laser cutters. Our boys have machinery at hand which would be found in industry and in tertiary institutions, thus making the progression onto employment or further education an easier one.
At Blacktown Boys High School our faculties cover as much experiential learning as is physically possible. All faculties carefully plan and run meaningful and relevant excursions, field trips and workshops, ensuring syllabus requirements are met, as well as highlighting career opportunities available within various faculty domains. Blacktown Boys has also developed a strong career orientated Program where boys from Years 9 onwards have the opportunity to undertake TAFE courses across multiple career pathways. These range from, IT to retail and trades such as carpentry, plumbing and bricklaying. Students are also encouraged to look towards university pathways with the school aligned with all universities in particular Western Sydney University, ‘Academy U Program’ and Macquarie university, ‘leaders and Achievers’. Work Experience programs begin from Year 10 onwards and are carefully tailored and managed by our highly professional careers advisers. Our programs are linked to real jobs for students from industry.
The wellbeing of our students lies at the core of our curriculum. A strong syllabus forms the foundation upon which our students transition from primary to high school and onto post school employment or tertiary education. The school’s unique Wellbeing program explores real life scenarios students may encounter once they leave school. Students are instructed on how to be streetwise, conscious of what they put into their bodies, travelling safely and being responsible citizens. Through our Physical Education Program, they are guided through the various health domains of spirituality, physicality, social, emotional, and cultural diversity. Our students also are made aware of bullying and resilience through an anti-bullying program, and all are taught resilience.
The school takes pride in offering our students experiences through Café D’ Art, The Duke of Edinburg program and Men’s Health Day. Experiential learning helps our boys engage, think deeply, and develop personal capabilities in their individual journey towards adulthood.
Our goal is to develop in our boys, self-discipline, compassion, resilience, and a drive towards success. We want our boys to lead by example, taking responsibility for all their actions and clearly understanding the implications of the choices and decisions they make. A ‘boys only environment’ enables for the development of strong and lasting friendships, an environment of camaraderie and strong professional relationships with teachers and peers. We strive for our students to be surrounded by positive male and female role models where we nourish an understanding for the need to be prepared to engage with the broader community and be able to cope with the multitude of challenges that lay ahead. To meet such specific needs in the classroom, our teaching and learning strategies align with the Australian professional Standards for Teachers. Our expectations of our staff are that all teachers:
- Know students and how they learn.
- Know their content and how to teach it.
- Plan for and implement effective teaching and learning.
- Create and maintain supportive and safe learning environments.
- Assess, provide feedback and report on student learning.
- Engage in professional learning.
- Engage professionally with colleagues, parents/carers, and the community.
Resultantly, our classrooms are vibrant ones, sometimes loud and noisy but they have a busy, engaged and happy noise within them. Our school is filled with energy, of risk taking, curiosity and enquiry. Our teachers structure their lessons to address the unique learning needs and idiosyncrasies of boys. Our experience in classroom presentation and delivery is nurtured from Year 7 through to Year 12. Our teachers know the boys, they signpost and guide them along their academic journey ensuring that they meet desired and expected academic and social outcomes and expectations. It is deliberate that our boys are encouraged to succeed, regardless the endeavour. Resultantly, boys at BBHS thrive, as they are not distracted by the social pressures of a co-educational environment, they explore their own definitions of self, exploring who they are and who they want to become. As our boys’ transition into the senior years of their education at BBHS, they are encouraged to step out of their comfort zones to explore their potential and become responsible and active members of the community.