Welcome to Yea High School's AYCE Program

The AYCE (Access Yea Community Education) Program aims at providing education for students who, for a wide variety of reasons, are not enrolled at a school. In 1999 the school ran a pilot program and, in practice, the program attracted mainly students who had been, up until that time, home educated.

By the end of 2005, the program had extended to eight off-campus centres. The program is able to be suited to all age groups, including students who have left school before doing their VCE. It is a requirement that students are enrolled at a school in order for them to attempt their VCE, and this program gives students not attending a mainstream school, the opportunity to access this qualification.

Parents involved in the program are looking for a positive learning experience for their children in a productive environment. They see some of the positives of the program as: the expectation of a varied standard for each child that lets them perform to their maximum academically; access to teachers with a different viewpoint or emphasis on subjects; awareness that things which they as parents have been pushing are valued by others; and the opportunity for their children to see others learning new things.

Students involved in the program feel it is: good to be with other people and hear their ideas; good to be in a non-threatening environment; good to have the opportunity to make friends with people they wouldn't have met otherwise; good to have the chance to improve their skills in areas in which they were particularly interested; and good to take part in discussions on books, news items and things of general interest.

The program requires weekly attendance at the centre of choice, and compulsory attendance two days a term at Yea High School for a meeting from 10 a.m. until 4 p.m. between teachers, parents, students and administration.  This day also allows for classes, practical work, contact with other students and parents, access to specialist teachers and time to use resources held at the school. Students have the use of the Science Laboratory and Science equipment, Careers Room with career advice and guidance and a variety of Technology rooms. Attendance on this day is essential to the success of the program.

At the beginning of the program parents and students are required to sign a contract with the school.  The contract sets out the subjects to be undertaken, the teachers providing the supervision, the provision of reports and the agreement to attend the compulsory monthly sessions at Yea High School.

Students and parents are asked to sign a Weekly Task Sheet. This keeps parents informed of the tasks for the week, lets them see the work that is required and the progress being made by their student towards completion of those tasks. This must be returned to the teacher at the weekly tutorials.

Following each semester, in line with Yea High School policy, each student receives an End of Semester Report outlining progress in all aspects of each subject.

Please do not hesitate to contact the school if you have any questions relating to the program and how it can best be accessed by you.

Mrs Annette Scales
Former AYCE Program Manager
Yea High School