Gateway Giving Students a Second Chance

Many of the students at Gateway Community High for any number of reasons had disengaged from mainstream education, attending sporadically, if at all, and underperforming when there.

A different approach was needed and Gateway, which marked five years since opening this year, has come to understand that students who don’t thrive in mainstream settings aren’t lacking the ability or a desire to learn, they need the right environment.

They’re getting something right and can look back on some solid results.

“Reaching five years is a major milestone. It marks not only the school’s annual steady growth, from 30 to 75 students, but also the graduation of our very first Year 12 HSC cohort. It demonstrates that the vision we started with in 2021 works: providing a positive, personalised and inclusive education for students who haven’t thrived in mainstream settings. It’s a powerful proof point that alternative education models can deliver mainstream credentials like the HSC while transforming lives,” Macquarie Community College and Gateway Community High CEO, Theresa Collignon says.

“Gateway Community High’s success shows that when education is personalised, inclusive and built around wellbeing, students who once felt disconnected can flourish. Gateway’s model proves that with compassion and flexibility, students can increase their attendance, and re-engage with their education once they rediscover their purpose and succeed.

“We just received an email from a parent of a Year 10 student who is, in their words incredibly grateful. They have seen their young person grown so much since beginning at Gateway including being suitably self-assured to move to a mainstream high school - it shows just how far she has come over the last two years."

Some quotes shared anonymously by students as part of Gateway Community High’s impact reporting include:
“Gateway Community High helped me become a better person and more invested into my education.”

“I feel much more accepted for who I am and I am able to connect with teachers [and] staff in a much better way than before at old schools.”

“I have learnt to build stronger social connections with those around me, improve my participation in class activities and develop additional coping mechanisms for when I need them, altering my wellbeing drastically.”

Small class sizes, the compressed HSC model, and wellbeing support have underpinned student outcomes.

“Gateway’s small-school environment allows our staff to know each student personally, identify their needs early, build trust and become a place of safety and belonging for our students. The compressed HSC program enables students to complete subjects in stages, reducing stress and creating room for depth and reflection. Combined with wraparound wellbeing support, this structure helps students re-engage and achieve both academically and personally. This approach is designed to increase HSC completion rates but also builds resilience, confidence and long-term pathways into further education or training.”

Gateway’s model is resource intensive - smaller classes, personalised support and wellbeing programs require investment.

“We receive a good level of government funding but do not charge high private school fees. We are always keen to do more, including improving our facilities and creating more learning opportunities for our students - and opening more campuses in future. These longer-term goals require significant capital investment and possibly a dedicated philanthropy and fundraising program.”

If there is a tactic she would like to see applied across the board to educating, it’s student wellbeing being measured and valued as an integral part of academic success. 

The school’s Social Impact Report shows that wellbeing, purpose and community connection have direct links to engagement and achievement at school. Over one year, Gateway students reported:
•    7% increase in overall wellbeing
•    9% increase in sense of purpose
•    15% increase in hope
•    10% increase in supportive relationships

“If I were looking to emulate the success of Gateway in a mainstream school setting, I would start with creating a model that includes holistic wellbeing that is tracked and measured over time.

“Adolescence is typically a time when wellbeing goes down rather than up so these results are important. Embedding wellbeing metrics like these into school reporting could help ensure all students are supported holistically, not just academically.

“The independent Huber research we have now been doing annually since late 2021 has collated some powerful data about what matters to our young people – and what we should focus on each year to continuously improve.”

The 2024 research report has independently verified that the Gateway Community High approach
•    Has a positive (+7%) impact on overall student wellbeing
•    Increases Holistic Wellness and Connection
•    Addresses what matters most to students (for example Pride and Purpose; Enjoyment and Self-love)
•    Delivers measured increases in target outcomes (for example, Help-seeking (+10%), Hope (+15%), feeling one’s life is important (+10%), friendships (9%) and relationships (+10%)

“These findings reflect Gateway’s values of being a place where everyone can Achieve. Belong. Grow. Our holistic approach and its success are fostering not just academic achievement, but personal growth and resilience.

“The proof that the Gateway Community High approach to delivering personalised, positive education that integrates holistic wellbeing is there. We now want to bring it to more communities to help increase attendance and school completion rates, while shaping new generations of well-rounded young adults.

“We have a multi-campus vision for the school over the next 10-20 years. We are starting the search now for an additional location for a second campus - ideally to open within the next two years.

“As part of the Macquarie Community College group that has been empowering learning for 75 years, we have long term community connections and support we can call on for our next steps. We are targeting local communities where a small alternative high school option like Gateway does not exist. We have identified Ryde, Parramatta, Chatswood and the Hills districts to look into, especially for adaptive re-use of existing community sites that are under-utilised.  If any of your readers have a great location in mind, I am always happy to hear from them.”