The college is a hub for the community and promotes learning partnerships. These may be formal as with school-based apprenticeships and traineeships, and informal, through a range of links with local government agencies, businesses, clubs and interest groups.
These include:
- Film and television industry
- Building and construction industry
- Manufacturing industry
- Marine precinct and industry
- Tourism and business service industry.
The Secondary School continues to build upon the foundational learning from junior secondary, with a key focus on setting each individual student on their chosen learning pathway via:
- Academic excellence throughout the core and elective subjects.
- STEM Excellence program.
- Creative Arts tailored pathways in Art, Music, Dance, Drama, Film and TV
- Athlete and Sport Development Program - Elite Future Stars and Talent Building Shooting Stars.
- A strong emphasis on literacy and numeracy, with NAPLAN and QCS Master Classes, Reading Intervention and Literacy and Numeracy support programs.
- Flexible pathways to meet the needs of OP and workforce bound students.
- A strong emphasis on Vocational Education and Training (VET) for all students.
- The wellbeing of the whole student including their academic, emotional, physical and mental wellbeing.
- Our connectedness to the community with a range of local, regional and national community organizations.
The Queensland Curriculum and Assessment Authority (QCAA) has developed syllabuses from the Australian Curriculum for schools to use to plan and deliver units of work and assessment for students in Years 11 and 12. Syllabuses are referred to as either General or Applied. QCAA are also responsible for issuing eligible students with their Queensland Certificate of Education upon successful completion of Year 12 studies.
The QCAA also makes student results available to the Queensland Tertiary Admissions Centre (QTAC) so that students may have their Australian Tertiary Admission Rank (ATAR) score calculated for eligible students. General subjects have very prescriptive syllabuses. Heads of Department work with teachers to develop four unit plans and assessment as prescribed by each syllabus. All school-based internal assessment delivered in Year 12 must be endorsed by the QCAA prior to being implemented with students. Each General subject also has an external exam written and marked by the QCAA at the end of Year 12.
Applied subjects contain many theoretical and practical components that schools choose to deliver. Heads of Department work with teachers to develop a study plan that must be approved by the QCAA. The study plan is developed and saved online in the QCAA School Portal. Heads of Department work with teachers to develop four unit plans and assessment to meet the requirements of the approved study plan. The Essential English and Essential Mathematics syllabuses also have an external common assessment task completed in Year 12 that is set by the QCAA each year. Applied subjects must also undergo quality assurance processes including an annual internal review, and annual external assessment moderation by the QCAA.