Masteries?

School-based Masteries...

By far the most common Masteries, and the ones that most people know about, are the School-Based Masteries.

Definition of a School-based mastery at Kooralbyn: The school offers the mastery program directly to its high school students. The school covers all supervision, training/coaching/mentoring, transport, facilities, consumables and assessment and reporting associated with the mastery. Each semester, the school will report on the student's progress in the mastery within the school's normal end of term school report. (Similar to a vocational style report however, the Mastery report will only consist of a general explanation of work covered, a report on the student's effort and a 'Met Requirements' or 'Did Not Meet Requirements' statement.)

Costs of school-based mastery programs: For local students (families who are Australian citizens or residents) the cost of school-based masteries is incorporated into the standard school fees for high school students (please refer to the School Fees and charges for either Local Residents or Non-Local Residents).
For International students, there ARE specific fees and charges associated with school-based masteries, please refer to the school's International Fees and Charges.

The current list of school-based masteries includes

  • Athletics
  • Art
  • Dance
  • Digital Design
  • Drama
  • Film & TV
  • Golf
  • Health & Fitness
  • Tennis
  • Music
  • SUPr (Specialised University Preparation - includes LOTE)
  • SBT (School-Based Traineeships and Apprenticeships) for Grades 9-12 students only.

In less than forty years, the tiny school that has defied statistics by producing TWO Young Australians of the Year, TWO World Top 5 PGA golfers, ONE Australian of The Year, the youngest university undergraduate in the country and an ongoing list of outstanding young men and women addressing the world stage as they pursue their personal dreams.

Cathy Freeman | 1990

Olympian, OAM, Australian of the Year

Adam Scott | 1997

World Class Golfer

Jason Day | 2002

World Class Golfer

Dan McCarron | 2012

Engineer • National Athletics

Private Masteries...

Private Masteries are available to students in Grades 7 to 10 and under certain circumstances can even be available to students in Grades 11 and12 (see details following).

Definition of a Private Mastery at Kooralbyn: In situations where a family is able to replicate the core components of a normal school-based mastery, the family can apply to the school to request their child undertakes a Private Mastery. For a Private Mastery Program to be approved by the school, the parents would need to...

  1. Privately commission a qualified trainer, coach or instructor who...
    • will provide safe and secure supervision of the student when they are not at school
    • report on the student's progress to the school at least once a semester, (progress would be assessed against a defined set of goals and objectives - see next main point)
    • ensure that the student attends the equivalent of at least 4.5 hours of contact time per week for at least 36 weeks a year (an equivalent total of around 160 hours of full contact/instruction/lessons per year)
    • and report to the school EVERY TIME the student is absent from the approved training/coaching/instruction
  2. Establish in conjunction with that trainer/coach/instructor, a set of goals or objectives for their child that...
    • Defines quarterly and annual goals for the student in the context of the chosen field of study
    • Defines quarterly and annual goals for the student in the context of the student's current abilities and experience in relation to the chosen field of study
  3. (If the student is in Grades 11 or 12) ensure that the student is enrolled in a registered and approved Cert II or III course with a registered Australian RTO.

Though virtually any field of study that can meet the requirements above, would be considered by the school, a recent list of private masteries includes

  • Aviation (if interest and numbers are strong enough, Aviation could be offered by the school as a school-based mastery)
  • Equestrian (if interest and numbers are strong enough, Equestrian could be offered by the school as a school-based mastery)
  • Swimming (if interest and numbers are strong enough, Swimming could be offered by the school as a school-based mastery)
  • Marksmenship
  • Archery
  • AMEB Music Exams