Middle Years
In Melbourne Girls Grammar’s Middle Years (Years 5 – 8) Program, students begin a robust, research-based curriculum tailored specifically to the needs of contemporary adolescent girls.
We have purposefully designed two learning experiences, Wildfell (Years 5 and 6) and St Hilda’s (Years 7 and 8), which promote an integrated approach combining both academics and wellbeing.
Rich and varied, the Middle Years nurtures healthy, positive girls who use their minds well to respond thoughtfully, ethically and with action to personal, community and global challenges.
In the Middle Years, our girls encounter choice and challenge. With a highly engaging experiential program, we see students embracing the full range of opportunities in front of them inside and outside of the classroom.
Above all, there is a sense of community and belonging. We are aligned in our purpose and values, emphasising a collaborative working style between students, educators and mentors.
As an independent school, we are proud to have created an agile curriculum that is true to the heritage and values of the school, while being at the forefront of innovation.
We celebrate diversity, identity and responsibility in every girl, every day.
Explore Our Curriculum
The Wildfell Program
The Wildfell Program is a time in our Middle Years girls’ lives when there is much to explore and understand about the complexities of the world and their place within it.
Read moreThe Wildfell Program successfully bridges primary and secondary models of education, with our Years 5 and 6 girls confidently exploring the wider Merton Hall campus and integrating with students from other years and programs.
Wildfell girls are:
- Creative thinkers
- Independent learners
- Reflective learners
- Team workers
- Self managers
- Effective participators
- Leaders of self and others
Each Wildfell girl is a part of a rigorous academic program with five core and three elective subjects per semester.
Core Subjects
- English
- Mathematics
- Science
- Cross Curricular Studies (including Personal Dimensions, History, Geography, Literacy, Civics and Citizenship)
- Health and Physical Education
Elective Opportunities
- Modern Languages (including Italian, French and Chinese)
- Visual Arts (including Art and The Art of Design)
- Performing Arts (including Music and Drama and Contemporary Movement)
The St Hilda’s Program
The St Hilda’s Program is an exploration of who our girls are as individuals, facilitating their positive growth, independence and confidence that will underpin their success in life.
Read moreBy engaging with the key areas of our St Hilda’s Program, our girls work towards achieving their personal best, and in doing so prepare well for the transition to the Senior Years.
Each area of the St Hilda’s Program is framed by four guiding concepts: valuing diversity, identity, responsibility, and building the capacity to lead and experience change.
St Hilda’s girls investigate an educational framework that echoes the core and elective subjects offered throughout Wildfell, consolidating and expanding their knowledge of these programs.
Central to this program is the belief that students must have an opportunity to exercise independence and choice in order to discover talents and passions in various areas of the curriculum.
Students will experience five core and three elective subjects per semester.
Core Subjects
- English
- Mathematics
- Science
- Global Perspectives
- Health and Physical Education
Elective Opportunities
- Modern Languages (including Italian, French and Chinese)
- Visual Arts (including Art and The Art of Design)
- Performing Arts (including Music, Drama and Contemporary Movement)
Middle Years Handbook
Download the Middle Years Handbook (.pdf)
Paving personalised learning pathways
MGGS understands that no two girls are the same – which means no two learning journeys are identical. Our approach is supportive and personalised, ensuring each girl reaches their own personal best and has the opportunity to excel in whatever pathway they pursue.
Our Philosophy
Our Middle Years experiences reflect and acknowledge the challenging and ever changing world in which our girls live.
The Wildfell and St Hilda’s Programs offer rich, varied and engaging learning and wellbeing experiences for our girls.
Our Programs are built on a philosophy of choice, academic challenge, personal challenge and raised expectations.
Wellbeing
At MGGS, we believe the wellbeing of our students underpins their academic success.
A holistic approach to knowing each student and her family is vital in providing our girls with the support they need to succeed.
We are committed to proactive pastoral care strategies, with positive relationships between staff, students, parents and the wider Wellbeing Team being critical to positive outcomes.
This comprehensive support network ensures our girls feel at home and challenges can be overcome.
Wellbeing at MGGS is complemented by the Personal Dimensions Program, which provides a framework of support around our girls and seeks to build empowerment.
Country, Culture and Connections
Every year our whole Year 8 cohort visit Culture College and learn from the Yolngu people in Arnhem Land. This experience forms a part of the School’s commitment to building a deeper understanding of our indigenous people, the history of Australia and the importance of preserving our 70,000 year-old indigenous culture, languages and traditions.
Co-Curricular Program
Life at MGGS exposes students to a range of curriculum, community and co-curricular opportunities.
Girls are encouraged to embrace all activities, consolidating existing skills, discovering new passions, building networks and relationships.
In the Middle Years, co-curricular programs include Physical Pathways, Passion Pathways and Service and Leadership.
Community and Chapel
Each week, time is set aside for Middle Years students to participate in Community Time, ensuring there is a balance of whole school and program-specific assemblies, Chapel Services, House meetings and Year Level meetings.
Such gatherings highlight the ways in which young people can grow spiritually, celebrate their identity and make key transition points as they journey through school together.
As a Christian school in the Anglican tradition, we infuse our community experience with knowledge of our heritage and encourage students to explore Christian values in a contemporary context.
Experiential Learning
At Melbourne Girls Grammar, we believe learning should not be confined to the classroom.
Throughout the Middle Years, girls are offered a range of thoughtfully planned experiential learning opportunities that ensure meaningful learning in safe, immersive and engaging environments.
Framed within an inquiry-based model, our girls have explored some of what our state and country has to offer as part of their School Camp, Extended Journey and Cross Curricular Inquiry units.
Enterprising Girls
Communication, travel, trade and social interactions are driving the human experience forward at an unprecedented pace and we are connected in a global context more so now than ever.
To meet these needs, our programs must be agile to ensure our girls leave MGGS prepared for any pathway they take in the world.
Our girls will see themselves as emerging global citizens, ready to explore opportunities for personal and community growth and development.