This year the Engage Education Foundation, under the leadership of Andrew Hearl (Postgraduate Arts), Eloise Watson (TC 2009), David Parncutt (4th year Arts) and Morgan Koegel (TC 2010), has built on its growing low-cost and no-cost VCE study support programs by developing new ways of supporting students in need.
October saw two Engage Education VCE seminars made exclusively available to students identified as experiencing some sort of disadvantage: socioeconomic, geographic, minority group, or attending an under-represented school at tertiary level. The seminars were designed to connect these students to both the academic resources and the motivation to achieve their goals in their upcoming exams and perhaps pursue further studies in fields related to their VCE studies. Nearly 160 students from around 30 schools (rural, regional, metropolitan) across Victoria attended the seminars in Legal Studies and Health and Human Development.
The seminars involved learning exam and study techniques, doing practice exam questions, and talks from Debbie Mortimer SC, Elizabeth Bennett, Kathleen Foley, and Dr Howard Goldenberg, among others, who generously donated their time for the students. Participants also connected with the University of Melbourne – finding the seminars certainly required some navigation – the students now possibly know the campus better than some current students! For many, it was the first time they had ever experienced the University; we hoped this would make it easier for them to visualise themselves studying here in the future.
The feedback was overwhelmingly positive from speakers, teachers, and students. It was a great opportunity to provide intensive support to VCE students who may not have access to the same level of opportunity as their peers from across Victoria.
In addition to these two free seminars, nearly 5,000 students attended one of our low-cost VCE seminars in 21 different subjects, with an additional 90 students receiving a subsidised ticket to help them attend. 200 students attended intensive Exam Workshops, and there were around 190,000 downloads of our 29 free practice exams.
Thank you to the Office of Admissions at the University of Melbourne and the team at Trinity College for their ongoing support.
Andrew Hearl (Postgraduate Arts), Engage Development Director
