Creating Global Citizens of the Future

Newcastle Grammar School is forging ahead in its vision to equip students with the skills and understandings necessary to navigate a changing world. A new era has begun with the school going…. global!

This year has seen the introduction of the Global Studies Faculty, an amalgamation of the Social Studies and History departments that will enable greater cross-curricular involvement by two integral parts of the school.

Bringing together Geography and History in years 7-10 and incorporating Commerce as an elective, all feeding into the senior subjects of Business, Economics, Legal, Geography, and the Histories. This is not only a greater application of staff specialities (allowing for continued professional development and more efficient and effective use of school resources), but it also places students at the forefront of an educational shift that will better prepare them for life beyond NGS and The Hill.

From a teaching viewpoint, Global Studies subjects encourage students to grapple with the impact of globalisation in its political, historical, environmental, economic and cultural manifestations. Teachers will be engaging students in complex problem-solving processes to develop transferable creative, critical and collaborative thinking skills, which serve as the key academic focus. Learning opportunities beyond the classroom facilitate the building of competencies for global engagement and authentic leadership through the communication of these fundamental learning goals.

From a learning viewpoint, students of Global Studies subjects will investigate the connections between globalisation and localisation, discovering and experiencing the opportunities and limitations that exist for them as global citizens. Active learning experiences provide opportunities for students to engage in inquiry-based learning experiences while further developing their enabling skills through whole school literacy processes. Teachers build on students’ Stage 3 learning experiences and continue to provide students with Inquiry-Based Learning opportunities.

Students of Global Studies will be provided with opportunities to embrace diversity, behave with empathy and analyse real-world problems through a multicultural lens. Thinking globally while acting locally!

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As teachers prepare Global Studies students for the future, they are preparing them for life after school. School Tours will become an integral part of a student’s time at Newcastle Grammar.

It is the schools hope that more students will be given even greater opportunities to travel outside of their ‘comfort’ zones as did the students who attended the 2017 Hands-on Humanity – Vietnam Tour. This inherently brings within their design the prospect of individuals developing skills and attributes of well-rounded, balanced citizens able to contribute and give back to society.

As part of this program, NGS students will be travelling to Oxford University during the July holidays to broaden their perspectives and learn with students from all over the world.

Many universities offer degrees in Global Studies, and so the school will be looking to establish even stronger links with the University of Newcastle and private entities like Hunter Futurepreneurs. It is from these strong foundations that Newcastle Grammar School are giving every student a snapshot into the future, and a better chance to excel in life’s opportunities.

Newcastle Grammar School operates within a unique structure with five umbrella departments in secondary; this includes Global Studies, STEM, Language and Literacy, Sport and Creative and Performance Arts. These departments were carefully selected to meet the growing need for students to think widely and see how individual subjects are linked and relevant to their learning today and in the future. For more information visit www.ngs.nsw.edu.au or see the school in action for yourself at the Open Day on Thursday, August 2, 2018.