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Sydney Catholic Schools

SCS students going for gold at WorldSkills

It’s billed as the Olympics of Vocational Education and Training (VET), a chance for students to test themselves, to compete against one another, and to showcase their skills and expertise on a grand stage. 

And it all starts on Tuesday 22 October, as Sydney Catholic Schools (SCS) hosts the WorldSkills Regional Competition across five days and four different colleges. 

WorldSkills is a competition where students demonstrate mastery in a wide range of VET courses, from Construction and Cookery, to Plumbing and Hairdressing. 

Competitions are designed by industry and skills experts who assess students’ knowledge, practical competence and employability skills against a set of strict criteria.

From Tuesday, students from Catholic, Independent and Department of Education schools will compete in competitions at Southern Cross Catholic College Burwood, Marist Catholic College Kogarah, Saint Yon Trade Training Centre Bankstown and St Joseph Trades Skills Centre Hinchinbrook. 

This Regional Competition is one of 34 regional events being held around Australia, with students all vying for a spot in next year’s WorldSkills Australian National Championships in Brisbane in June. 

Last year, eight SCS students travelled to Melbourne to compete in the National Championships, with four achieving medal positions, including Claudia Walker from Marist Sisters College Woolwich who won gold in Kitchen Operations.

The hope is that this year’s Regional Competition will unearth more talent among the SCS ranks, with 82 students participating across the five days.  

The SCS competitors have learned from the best, with five SCS teachers appointed as Chief Judges of the competition, alongside 14 other SCS Judges. This highlights the expertise and dedication of the educators within the system.

This offers educators a valuable professional learning opportunity to exchange insights with peers and other sectors, enabling …

October 17, 2024|
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Celebrating excellence at the Olympics for Vocational Skills

Nothing short of a transformative experience that shapes vocational futures

In August, Sydney Catholic Schools (SCS) students were given the opportunity to demonstrate their mastery in various trade skills at the 2023 WorldSkills Australia National Championships in Melbourne.

Eight talented students represented SCS at this years’ tournament, demonstrating their passion for and dedication to diverse industries including Automotive, Commercial Cookery, Electrotechnology, Hairdressing, Information Technology, and Plumbing.

Four of these students emerged as medal winners, showcasing the depth of talent within Vocational Education and Training (VET) across SCS:

WorldSkills not only highlights the ongoing success (VET) offerings across SCS, the competition also paves the way for promising career pathways for the next generation of trainees and apprentices. 

Mary Bancks, Education Officer – Vocational Education, explains how WorldSkills brings together students from diverse vocational backgrounds to compete in a wide range of …

August 30, 2023|
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A School Ahead of the Curve

Why students at this school are already remote learning pros

While learning during COVID-19 has undeniably affected the education sector, it’s been especially challenging for students undertaking practical work in Vocational Education and Training (VET) subjects.

But for Southern Cross Catholic Vocational College Burwood (the College) the leap from on-site to remote learning has been smoother than for most, as the College was already at the forefront of online learning long before the coronavirus arrived.

The College – which is especially for senior students seeking vocational education and training pathways – already had an online one-stop-shop, where course content, work and assessments are housed. Plus, a majority of its VET offerings operated in the digital realm (a Virtual Learning Platform).

“The Virtual Learning Platform allows for real-time interaction between students and learning facilitators,” College principal, Tony Patton, said.

“Each Learning Guide contains Learning Checkpoints, which are designed to measure the students’ progress. They also include interactive quizzes and assignments, used to monitor the level of student mastery. Learning Guides allow for continuous progress as students work at their own pace with the support of our staff.”

COVID-19 has prompted the College to add even more online tools to its toolkit, to monitor student progress, engagement and wellbeing.

Students studying together at southern Cross Catholic Vocational college Burwood before COVID-19 Students studying together at southern Cross Catholic Vocational college Burwood before COVID-19. Photo: Kitty Beale

“This is about more than just online learning during a pandemic. Southern Cross has long been creating innovative systems based on well-researched, best practice for a range of learning and teaching methods” – Southern Cross Catholic Vocational College principal, Tony Patton

The College has introduced Zoom cloud meetings and built an interactive community environment, where teachers are referred to as Learning …

May 9, 2020|
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