Year 9 Tay Creggan
WHERE LEARNING IS THE
HEARTBEAT OF OUR CULTURE.
Adolescent years are a time of change and development, a time of curiosity, growth, exploration and independence.
At such a crucial time of change, it is important for girls to feel they belong, have a high level of support from their family, school and peers and to be actively challenged and engaged in learning.
Tay Creggan (TC), located in Hawthorn, is Melbourne’s first independent Year 9 girls campus purchased in 1969 and established in 1970. Unlike other Year 9 programs our students have the unique opportunity to study at a separate campus, while still living at home and importantly remain part of the whole Strathcona school community for school events and celebrations.
TC Envision Program
Strathcona has developed the bespoke TC Envision Program specifically tailored for our Year 9 students woven together with the Victorian Curriculum. The Envision Program teaches important entrepreneurial and life-ready skills such as critical thinking, problem-solving, design capability, intellect, collaboration, communication and resilience.
The historic building and the surrounding gardens positioned by the Yarra River becomes another authentic and meaningful learning environment where through an integrated approach to study, students can safely explore both interpersonal connections and their relationship to the Melbourne environment.
Melbourne is known for its strong enterprise and business culture. TC Envision has partnered with Future Anything, complementing the entrepreneurial aspect of the program by embedding the latest thinking in entrepreneurial pedagogy to build our students confidence and capability in the development of their own business. The program supports students to ideate, prototype and pitch innovative ideas that make their world a better place. This is showcased through students’ designing detailed business plans along with the strategy and tools that go hand in hand with marketing and selling a product or service to an authentic audience. We use the Wade Institute’s Entrepreneurship model which covers the various components of running a business. This is showcased through students’ designing detailed business plans along with the strategy and tools that go hand in hand with marketing and selling a product or service to an authentic audience.
The TC Envision program offers students a unique opportunity to cultivate their leadership abilities in collaboration with the Youth Leadership Academy Australia. This comprehensive initiative commences with a full-day conference in Term 1, followed by a 10-week LeaderUp program designed to equip students with the skills and confidence necessary to effect positive change within their schools and communities. By empowering students through this structured approach, we aim to unlock their full leadership potential, enabling them to thrive as leaders both presently and in the years ahead.
Building on these skills and knowledge is our Camp to Campus. This rites-of- passage journey follows the footprint of the Yarra River back to the TC Campus. It enables all Middle School students to be challenged in the outdoor environment where learning to develop decision-making, agility and adaptability becomes even more important. This reinforces our whole school aim of fostering perseverance and resilience in our approach to study and to life.
An active sport and outdoor program on the campus, also contributes to health and wellbeing. Our caring, passionate staff are experts in the emotional, social, physical and cognitive stages of development of young teenage girls. This is combined with an extensive co-curricular offering such as Soul Sisters, a mentoring program between Year 4 and Year 9 which helps to teach the younger students about positive mental health.
By the conclusion of Year 9 our students have developed in maturity, and formed lifelong friendships and connections, well prepared for learning in the senior years having developed ideas around sustainability as well as initiative, teamwork and collaboration. They will hold awarded credentials as tangible evidence of real- life learning, in a range of areas such Barista competencies, the Duke of Edinburgh scheme, financial management and digital technologies.
All Year 9 students embark upon the Camp to Campus outdoor program at Tay Creggan. This six-day, 130km journey follows the Yarra River from its source down past Mt Donna Buang and the Warburton Trail, into the Yarra Valley region, through rapids at Warrandyte, and along the Yarra River Bike Trail, concluding at the Year 9 Tay Creggan campus.
Successfully completing the challenge gives the girls a huge sense of achievement and creates a stronger bond with peers. Camp to Campus also contributes towards the Duke of Edinburgh’s Bronze Award, in which all Year 9 students participate.
The Tay Creggan program has been carefully constructed for our Year 9 girls of today, taking into consideration educational and developmental research, developments in ICT and trends in learning. The unique learning environment and location of Tay Creggan are fully utilised to enrich the learning experience of our students.
All students engage in timetabled lessons in the following subjects:
- TC Envision encompassing Art / Music/ Drama/ Food Technology
- English
- Humanities (History, Geography, Civics and Citizenship)
- Mathematics
- Science
- Physical Education
Students also study two of the following:
- French
- International Studies
- Italian
- Mandarin Chinese
- Digital Futures
Learning Enhancement classes are available to support specific learning needs. It is not based on academic ability and there is a formal process for accessing these classes.
The Pastoral Care Program develops a sense of community where each student is known and valued. Through House Groups and subject classes, House sports, drama and music activities, friendships are extended and students become well acquainted with the entire year level.
A structured Personal Development Program explores various issues related to health education, careers education and goal setting. Areas explored include:
- Dancing
- Drug education
- Health education
- Leadership and goal setting
- Self-defence
- Sex education
The Duke of Edinburgh’s Awards Program, with its focus on leadership, service, skill development and outdoor challenges, provides further opportunities for personal development. All Year 9 students endeavour to complete their Bronze Award at Tay Creggan, with their achievement recognised in a ceremony at the end of the year.
Students have the chance to develop and exercise leadership skills through roles such as:
- House Captain
- Music Captain
- Drama Captain
- Form Captain
- Social Service Representative
- Writers for School Publications
Tay Creggan provides students with an environment that engenders both a respect for the past and an enthusiasm for the future.
Facilities include:
- Spacious classrooms
- Fully equipped science laboratory
- The Learning Lounge (library)
- Commercial kitchen
- Large, light-filled art room.
- The Yarra River at our doorstep, providing an environment for water activities such as canoeing, kayaking and rowing.
In addition, the close proximity of the main school campus enables Year 9 girls to continue their participation in inter-school sport, choirs and instrumental ensembles.
A core group of staff works continuously at Tay Creggan. Specialist teaching staff travel to Tay Creggan to provide girls with the expertise required at this stage of their education.
Tay Creggan is a magnificent historic house set in beautiful grounds on the Yarra River in Hawthorn. Built in 1893 as a family home, it quickly became the social hub for fashionable Hawthorn. Strathcona bought Tay Creggan in 1969. The following year it opened as Australia’s first designated campus for Year 9 girls.
See Tay Creggan
Open Mornings
Attend our next Open Morning to meet our Principal, key staff, and current students on a typical day. Please click here to register.
Don't wait, take a virtual tour now
Take a virtual tour through our various campuses and view 360-degree imagery along your journey.
Small Group Tour
(Tay Creggan - Year 9)
Attend a tour of our unique Tay Creggan campus, home to our Year 9 Envision program. Meet our students on a walk around campus.
Personal Tour
Please contact our Registrar to arrange a personalised tour of Strathcona. Typically, these take place during school hours and term time.
Meet our Head of Tay Creggan
The vision for our unique approach to Year 9 teaching and learning is guided by Ms Jen Buchanan, an expert in the field of adolescent education and supporting young people in a pivotal year of maturity.
