Gateway to School Reengagement

More year 9 and 10 students are dropping out of traditional schools post-pandemic, according to the Australian Bureau of Statistics. In 2022, the Year 7 to 12 full-time apparent retention rate decreased from 83.1% in 2021 to 80.5%.

For those who don’t engage with the regular school setting, an alternative to the hurley burley of high school is welcome.

Gateway Community High which opened in Carlingford in 2021, provides students with an alternative educational setting. Independent Schools have seen a record surge in enrolments in New South Wales over the past couple of years, with an increase of 3.5% in 2021.

Deborah Riley sent her shy son Josh to Gateway when it first opened after realising mainstream school wasn’t for him, following a desperate search for an alternative to mainstream High. He graduated year 10 last year and is now on track to complete his HSC.

“Josh became a happy child again. He was keen to go to school and found a love of learning and life again. It was a relief for us to see our son smiling,” Deborah said.

The latest Huber Social Impact Report found Gateway Community High increased student wellbeing by 15% after the school completed its first full year of impact measurement.

Gateway Community High’s Stage 5 9/10 program offers a flexible, engaging and practical learning environment for up to 50 students so they can reconnect with their education.

The teaching team looks to help students in any year of enrolment to work towards their further learning and career pathway - whatever that may be. Options include further learning at Gateway Community High, successfully transitioning back to mainstream education; or into other forms of education and training, or entering the workforce.

In 2022 Gateway Community High applied to the NSW Education Standards Authority (NESA) to extend the program offering to Stage 6 (Years 11 and 12 and this is currently subject to ministerial approval.

Fees are manageable at $100 a term and while there isn’t a uniform there are dress standards, students are expected to wear clean, plain clothing and closed toe shoes.

“Gateway Community High provides a Gateway to learning in an environment that delivers a positive, personalised and inclusive experience for young people that will set them up for future success,” says Riley.

“The small class sizes and supportive learning environment means the school is ideally suited to motivated students who have not thrived or felt supported in mainstream education. Gateway Community High offers tailored support and special assistance to help each student achieve to the best of their ability.

Gateway seeks to treat everyone with consideration and dignity; listen and respect other points of view; make meaningful personal connections and friendships; demonstrate that positivity and kindness matter; and show value and work on stronger relationships.

“Gateway allowed Josh to feel comfortable and confident in himself again. He has even gone on to do the HSC after leaving Gateway, which we wouldn’t have imagined prior to being at Gateway.

“He is enjoying the new challenges, that Gateway set him up for. Josh has even gone on to do the HSC after leaving Gateway. That seemed like a distant dream for him and his parents prior to Gateway.

“Gateway offered Josh a small alternative, nurturing, back to basics approach to education. The teachers are kind and caring, and the school staff were a huge benefit.

“Shortly after Josh started at Gateway became a happy child again. He was keen to go to school again and found a love of learning and life again,” says Riley.