The focused approach allows students to concentrate on only three subjects at any one time. Greater blocks of time allocated to each subject – on average 100 minutes of class time every school day – means that students can consolidate their understanding and use the uninterrupted time to practice and perfect their skills. Students know that they have to come to grips with, and revise for, only three subjects at any one time. Having a maximum of three assessment tasks in any given period, and having to prepare for a HSC exam for only three different subjects at the end of the year, reduces stress and opens the door to a better performance.

The subject range offered each year is impressive. Over the course of the senior years, students will have the opportunity to study (subject to student demand) Ancient History, Biology, Business Studies, Chemistry, Design and Technology, Drama, Earth and Environmental Science, English (to the highest level), Legal Studies, Mathematics (to the highest level), Modern History, Music, PDHPE, Physics, Society and Culture and Visual Arts.

While the HSC is an important focus of students in the senior years, there is so much more to school than the academic side. Senior students at NCS also have the opportunity to join in extra-curricular activities available to our junior secondary students. These include sporting activities, eisteddfods, leadership, Duke of Edinburgh and community service.

We are pleased that our graduating students have shown great skill in moving into “the world beyond school”. The vast majority of our HSC students have been able to move into the area of study or work of their preference, and have frequently reported that the foundation provided by their years at NCS have equipped them to stand as capable young people with integrity in their new environment.

At the end of the journey through school, many of our past senior students have paid tribute to the school. They have highlighted the support received from their peers, teachers and parents. Many have proclaimed, without a shadow of a doubt, that they know they have been a part of a special school that has loved them, cared for them and given them the best education for which they could have hoped.