Background

In 2021, Hobart City High School and Elizabeth College formed the Hobart City Partner Schools partnership. This arrangement has enabled both schools to work closely together to give students strong learning pathways for employment, further training, or higher education.

Elizabeth College offers around 100 Year 11/12 course offerings. It also has a strong relationship with the University of Tasmania which offers students further extension and opportunities, particularly though the School of Business, High Achiever Program and University Connections Program.

In 2022, Year 7 boys and girls and Years 8 to 10 girls attended the Ogilvie campus of Hobart City High School. Years 8 to 10 boys attended the New Town campus.

From 2023, Hobart City High School became fully co-educational. The New Town Campus focused on Years 9 and 10. The Ogilvie Campus focuses on Years 7 and 8 and continue to host the Hobart Big Picture program for Years 9 to 12.

Next Steps

Hobart City High School (HCHS) is up and running but now it’s time to think about the future and how to give all students the best educational outcomes going forward.

The next step is to identify the preferred future operating model for HCHS, its connection to Elizabeth College (EC) and whether this includes the strengthening of the current partnership arrangements or looking at another option.

A review of the operating model was always planned but has been brought forward to help further drive:

  • improved outcomes and supported pathways for our learners
  • greater alignment and retention from Years 9 to 12
  • leadership certainty and stability
  • stability in shared staffing arrangements and resourcing so that students are known and supported

This is a continuation of the journey the schools have been on since 2018, where they started working together to provide co-education and complementary courses across the three sites of EC, the former Ogilvie High School and New Town High School. While we know there won’t be a one size fits all solution, the concept of HCHS has always been owned by the community, driven by community partnerships and what the school and broader community want for their students. We’ve worked hard to get to this point.

About the Consultation

3P Advisory, a Tasmanian business which specialises in stakeholder engagement and consultation, has been engaged to undertake the consultation process.

The consultation will include students, parents, staff, and the broader Hobart community, and aims to capture broad feedback and insights about the future model for EC & HCHS, to solidify clear learning pathways for all students, drive greater retention between Years 9 and 12 and deliver leadership stability and clarity of the resourcing needs for staff at both schools.

Options currently proposed are:

  • HCHS and EC remain separate entities but continue in partnership as they currently do
  • HCHS and EC combine to be one school on three campuses.

No decisions have been made and any other reasonable alternative options put forward during the consultation process will be considered.

A Steering Committee, which will include the Director, Principal Leadership in Southern Tasmania, HCHS and EC Principals and relevant School Association Chairs, will oversee the consultation process, provide direction, and make appropriate recommendations to the Minister.

FAQs

FAQ

We are consulting with HCHS and EC students and staff, families and the broader community on the preferred long term operating model for HCHS and EC. Independent provider 3P Advisory Pty Ltd will undertake this consultation on behalf of the Department for Education, Children and Young People.

We want to identify a long-term future model for HCHS and EC, so we can:

  • Improve outcomes for learners and offer them strong pathways for education, further training and higher education
  • Secure greater student attainment and retention from Years 9-12
We are focusing on the needs of students, to ensure we have a model that maximises learning oppertunities.

The current model was established to get HCHS up and running. This work was always planned in the longer term, and has come from the previous consultation. The consultation process has been brought forward to deliver certainty to everyone, both staff and students, and to build the school the community wants for the future.

Currently, we are working toward a 2025 implementation - which is why we’re starting this work now. However, this is not set in stone and our priority is to ensure students needs are front and centre both throughout this process, the next stages, and the future model.

As we have not yet identified what the model will look like, we can not predict what changes may need to be made beforehand, however, our priority is to ensure there is stability and to maximise learning opportunities for students throughout this process and the next stages.

The beauty of this consultation is that there is no preferred model yet. You can participate in discussions about what model you think would work.

Some of the options that may be considered include:

  • HCHS and EC continuing separately, as they currently do, by providing co-educational and complementary courses across campuses.
  • HCHS and EC combining to be one school on three campuses.

But we will also consider any other options identified through the consultation process.

No matter what model is put forward as the preferred option, it will be something that best suits students and maximises their learning opportunities.

Nothing has been decided and we are open to consulting with the community, including their views on how they see EC fitting in to the broader picture.

The partnership between the schools is already established, and what this would look like under an alternative model is what this consultation is here to help determine.

At this stage, there is no intention to make changes to the feeder and access school arrangements, Once we know what the preferred model is, this can be reviewed so we can get a sense of the distribution of students from the Hobart area.

Both schools are well versed at welcoming students at various stages of their learning journey. Normal enrolment arrangements still apply, and we value a diverse and inclusive student community.

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Data and Information

Data will be updated in the coming days to provide you with additional information as a part of this process.

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