Independent Schools Guide 2025: How this school is learning through real-life challenges

“One group of students designed a prototype of a machine to clean cigarette butts from St Kilda beach because they identified a significant litter problem,” says Year 9 Synergy Leader Jacinta Chute.

“Other students have investigated transport issues in the city for people with disabilities or researched the impacts of bike paths on traffic flow.

“Year 9 is the gateway to VCE and it is a time of identity-seeking for students. We want our students to be confident in who they are, so they move into VCE with a strong sense of self.

“The Synergy program teaches students to explore, immerse themselves in learning, and to understand that trying something new and failing is an opportunity for growth.”

The location of the Academy of Mary Immaculate in Melbourne’s CBD creates unique learning opportunities – it is the only school in the world located on a UN World Heritage site – and it is the oldest girls’ secondary school in Victoria.

While proud of its history, the school constantly looks for ways to ensure that the educational journey of every student is rich, contemporary and relevant in today’s world. The Synergy program is part of that process.

“Students tell us the program is the most powerful learning experience of their life so far,” Chute says.

“They begin the program asking for guidance and information, but by the end of the program, they are independent and curious learners who are comfortable with their own skills and abilities.

“They are young people who no longer ask, ‘Can we?’ but instead ask, ‘Why can’t we?’ They know the future belongs to them and that they have an important role to play in that.”