Preparing Life Ready Students – Careers and Pathways at MBC
At MBC, our approach to careers and pathways flows from our mission to provide an excellent education in a Christian context, developing life ready students who reflect the character of Jesus. Being life ready involves more than just obtaining academic knowledge and developing skills – students need the chance to discover what gives them a sense of purpose and the opportunity to plan and prepare for their life and goals post-school. We believe that every student is made in the image of God and created for a purpose, and our role, in partnership with parents, is to help prepare them for what’s ahead and to realise their God given potential.
Every student is an individual, and we’ve worked hard to make sure our Upper School options reflect that. Rather than specialising in any single direction, we’ve deliberately developed a variety of choices so students can tailor their studies to their goals and current lifestyle. Four main Upper School pathways are available at MBC – ATAR for university entry, General studies, Vocational Education and Training (VET), and alternative university entry options. Across these, we offer a wide selection of courses at ATAR, General and Foundation (support) levels, in addition to a range of VET opportunities including part-time TAFE, school-based traineeships/apprenticeships, and programs such as Workplace Learning and university enabling courses.
With so many options on offer, the question of what pathway to choose can feel really overwhelming for students and families, but we see our role as being advisors as well as providers of the choices themselves. Our dedicated Pathways Coordinator, alongside other key staff such as our Dean of Teaching & Learning (Secondary), leads our careers program at the College, and they also work one-on-one with students to help them find the right fit, and they will step in to help if students’ plans need to change at some point in their time with us.
Students are also free to choose the pathway that works for them. We don’t set hard prerequisites, and although we offer guidance and advice along the way, the final choice belongs to the student. Once that choice is made, we support our students to help them reach their goals. We often describe our approach as high expectations with high support. We don’t compromise on academic excellence, but we make sure students have what they need to achieve at their best, whether that be after-school tutoring, coaching on workplace skills, or helping them to build their self-confidence.
Whatever pathway a student chooses, our ultimate goal is always the same – to see them graduate MBC ready for what comes next, with confidence in who they are and where they’re heading.
View our Future Pathways page or contact us for more information.
Joanne Meek | Head of Secondary