Independent Schools Guide 2025: Why this school thinks learning needs to be aspirational

The VCE Coordinate Program between local private boys school Trinity Grammar School and Ruyton is a unique co-curricular opportunity.

By coming together in the classroom the program provides a respectful co-educational learning environment, where students are ready to collaborate with the skills and maturity developed through their single-sex education.

The relationship extends across co-curricular opportunities, including senior theatre productions of Mamma Mia and Chicago and the successful buddy program implemented in the Junior School.

During Year 4, students thrive during a unique and immersive year-long learning program at the heritage-listed South House on the Ruyton grounds.

In modern classrooms, vegetable and bush tucker gardens, and kitchens, students particularly develop STEM skills and learn about sustainability.

In 2024, students investigated the impact of cabbage moths on kitchen gardens and were finalists in the Stephanie Alexander National Kitchen Garden Program STEM category.

“Moving between indoor and outdoor learning environments and the local community builds curiosity and critical thinking,” Bence says.

In Year 7, students focus on “academic buoyancy” – how to cope with academic setbacks and move forward.

“The world of work is relying on adaptability and our academic buoyancy program enables students to navigate uncertainty,” Bence says.

Year 12 students can voluntarily undertake a Capstone Project separate from VCE. They choose an area of interest, define a research question, undertake that research and present their findings to the school.