The Ocien View across the College's sports fields.
Located in the truly scenic area of Port Kembla the college offers education and training in a mature learning environment.
Once the Port Kembla High School, the college came into being in the 1990s when falling attendances at the high school led to the NSW Department of Education and Training reconstituting the school to cater for a wider range of ages and courses.
Today the college offers education for years 10, 11 and 12, but it also provides a wider choice for people of all ages.
School principal, Mark Webster, says for example, Higher School Certificate students range in age from 17-18 to 77, with a quarter of those studying for their HSC being 21 years of age and over.
While it is still recognised as a government school its extended services for mature age studies makes it very different. Attendees don’t wear a school uniform and everyone calls one another by their first name.
Mark says the success basis for the college is all about positive relationships.
The college doesn’t have any particular discipline levels and no real punishment system, and opens for only four days a week – Mondays to Thursdays – as well as providing an extra hour of classes on these days.
There are 42 different subjects available in Year 11 alone.
There is also support available for any students with medical conditions or learning difficulties that impact on classroom and examination performance, and a trained enrolment team offers help with the choice of the study system best suited to individual needs.
There are 120 students enrolled in Year 10, 230 in Year 11 and between 80 and 90 in Year 12.
The college also caters for part time enrolments with some students taking up to five years to complete their HSC.
More on offer
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Illawarra Senior College's principal Mark Webster.
Students have many choices, with year 11 alone offering 42 different subjects. Among the courses on offer are many exactly the same as are available at TAFE and there are a large number of re–entry students aged from 15 to 60 who seek a qualification to better help them in the “outside world”.
Mark, who came from being principal at Condobolin 10 years ago, really loves the place and the atmosphere that exists between staff and students.
Tolerance is a key factor, he says, and bullying is out of the question.
“We like to judge our students as individuals and judge them as people rather than what they may look like.”
One thing, however, that is closely monitored, is the attendance records with the appropriate rolls being marked as much as six times a day.
“This is because students start at various times, but we like to maintain an accurate attendance tracking system,” he says.
Mark says many people in the wider community think that the college is there for seniors, which is not true, although there are 120 senior citizens attending on a regular basis.
The seniors tend to want to study such subjects as digital photography or computer applications, which can help them in their day-to-day living.
But Mark also wants to stress that the college operates as a normal education centre and has an expansive canteen, offers sporting opportunities and those working towards their HSC are doing exactly the same thing they would be doing at a high school.
For further information about “our education centre with a difference” phone 4274 0621 or take a look at its website www.isc.nsw.edu.au | 
