Features of our School

The essence of independent schooling is to provide choice. For real choice to exist, schools must differ in their style, composition, organisation, character and balance. As a learning community, our school is distinguishable by a unique combination of features.

» Co-educational by Design
» Natural and Inclusive 
» Safe and Supportive
» K - 12: Working Together
» A Broad & Balanced Educational Experience
» Exceptional Facilities
» Meeting Individual Needs

Co-educational by Design

Co-education is an integral part of the social context of good education and it reflects our strong belief in the academic and social benefits of boys and girls being educated together. Within this rich co-educational environment values such as equality, justice, fairness, tolerance and compassion find their fullest expression. Our students have the opportunity to understand and appreciate the perspectives both boys and girls bring to the school - and to recognise the sheer complexity of gender. Boys and girls become good friends over the years and learn to appreciate each other's strengths, without feeling self-conscious. Recognising how society constructs gender, they learn to discard sexist attitudes and to realise their own individuality within a mixed sex school setting.

Natural and Inclusive

A community is made up of people with diverse interests, abilities and backgrounds. So it is at The Hills Grammar School. 'Hills' is a social place where a child's experiences with other children and adults influence lifelong attitudes to learning and relationships in a complex society. The student population is comprehensive reflecting a high number of siblings and a rich diversity in terms of cultural, social and economic backgrounds. Our international students bring a special richness and cosmopolitan tone to the school community. The school is registered to offer courses from K to 12 to full fee-paying overseas students.

Safe and Supportive

The School provides a safe and secure environment which promotes learning, social and emotional development and positive self esteem. Self discipline and management are important developmental goals for our students. Parents are also encouraged to play an active role in the implementation of our welfare and student behaviour management policies. At Hills we embrace an ethos of non-violence and expect each child to treat others with consideration and respect. Harassment and violence of any kind are unacceptable and steps are taken to resolve grievances and conflicts. Our welfare and student behaviour management policies are based on a structured pastoral care and counselling system which reflects the developmental needs of students, from infancy to young adulthood. A full time counselling service is available to all students and supplements the work of the class teachers and pastoral care staff. The School Counsellors are registered psychologists. The Tertiary and Careers Awareness Co-ordinator focuses on assisting our senior students to plan for and make realistic career and study choices by increasing their awareness of the diverse range of post-school options available to them.

Working Together

Hills is a Kindergarten to Year 12 school. While the K - 12 educational continuum is broken into six stages, each with its own distinctive character, Junior and Senior students are often involved in programs, activities and events together. Specialist 7 - 12 teachers work in the Junior School. Teachers and students of all year groups meet through our extensive co-curricular program. Our highly qualified and experienced teachers are our most important resource in assisting students to realise their potential. The low student-teacher ratio facilitates effective working relationships. The partnership developed between the School, the home and the wider community helps to foster the educational programs of the school and contributes to the vitality of our community.

A Broad & Balanced Educational Experience

The curriculum offered at The Hills Grammar School is academically rigorous and aims to enable enrich and extend students from Kindergarten to Year 12. It provides extensive opportunities for broad and in-depth academic study across all Key Learning Areas. Flexible pathways are possible for students with particular learning needs.The study of foreign languages and the creative arts, which we see as crucial to intellectual development, starts at Kindergarten. At the Higher School Certificate level, students can select from an extensive curriculum comprising up to 37 different courses of study including all extension courses.

Our co-curricular program includes a range of individual and team sports, music, drama and creative arts ensembles, public speaking and debating, environmental groups, recreational and leadership opportunities. Click here for more details on our co-curricular program. In addition, the House program, which starts at Kindergarten, enriches students' lives and contributes greatly to House and School spirit. All students are allocated to one of four houses: Castle, McGrath, Pennant and Rogan.

Exceptional Facilities

Set in 45 acres of magnificent bushland, the school buildings are Australian neo-colonial, architect-conceived to harmonise with the natural surroundings and magnificent landscaped gardens. Our exceptional facilities, designed to foster an idyllic and collegial atmosphere, include:

• fully equipped multipurpose hall with gymnasium and weight training area
• amphitheatre, music complex, drama theatre and workshop spaces
• state-of-the-art Science and HSIE facilities
• art and ceramics rooms, studio and gallery
• four level learning centre including library and fully equipped theatrette
• over 500 computers with high speed internet access available for use in Junior and Senior classes, library and in five dedicated labs
• interactive white boards in Stage One classrooms
• food technology kitchen and cafeteria-style canteen
• A fully lit Sports Precinct with an international sized oval with lighting, four multi-purpose courts and a Sports Pavilion

Meeting Individual Needs

The School is committed to catering for individual student needs through early intervention. Curriculum differentiation commences in Kindergarten where students' literacy is assessed on a regular basis. Learning enrichment and specialist academic teachers work with class teachers providing academic support for students with particular areas of need including Gifted and Talented, Learning Difficulties and English as a Second Language. All students K - 6 are offered learning support and learning enrichment programs and those with high ability have many opportunities to continue their development in the Senior School through the Honours program which offers courses in Mathematics, Science, Music and the Humanities (English, Latin and History).

The School endeavours to support the professional learning of its staff - a commitment to quality teaching through strategic professional development helps to ensure a continued improvement in the education we offer to all our students.