By GEORGIA WESTGARTH
ON its premiere, the nation watched on as a 13 year old got caught with marijuana at school, as a teenage girl threatened to strike a teacher … and the crushing pressures accelerated learning programs can have on students.
But it’s all real life, Kambrya College principal Michael Muscat said.
The show Revolution School struck a chord with viewers, students and teachers alike on ABC TV at the premiere of what will be a four part series, on Tuesday 31 May.
Tweets read:
Mary-Anne Thomas MP: It’s been a long while since I taught but loved the warts and all authenticity of #RevolutionSchool. Congrats to all at Kambrya College.
Preston Towers: What gets me about #RevolutionSchool is that they are trying to get these kids to learn about boring nonsense like the gold rush.
Joe Hildebrand: #RevolutionSchool is amazing but the chasm between the language of the teachers and the students might as well have subtitles.
Gorgi Coghlan: #RevolutionSchool showing the challenging role teachers have in trying to maximise learning, whilst dealing with serious student issues.
Take a look behind the scenes in this ABC series promo:
CJZ Productions filmed daily at the Berwick school throughout 2015 and Mr Muscat said the whole school community had a spring in its step following the premiere.
“We are happy with the feedback, which has been that the episode shows it the way it really is,” Mr Muscat said.
“It showed how much teachers care and how complex and intense the work of teachers is and it’s great for the community to see.”
In response to the 13 year old in possession of marijuana at school, who he had taken under his wing, Mr Muscat said, “It’s just a reality”.
“It was the first incidence of drugs at our school in five years, and we thought ‘oh great’ but it shows schools are a reflection of the community they serve and that’s a reality.”
Mr Muscat who has been head principal at the school for eight years said the school’s growth in education standards would be highlighted most strongly in the fourth episode.
Mr Muscat said CJZ Productions had researched hundreds of schools around Australia before settling on Kambrya.
“According to what they say they were looking for an average suburban high school that was doing some above average work,” he said.
Kambrya was chosen for its drastic improvement in student achievement over the past six years.
Mr Muscat said the school’s success had been quite remarkable.
“In 2008 we were rock bottom, one of the lowest performing schools in Victoria and now we’re consistently in the top 20 highest performing schools,” he said.
The school used the University of Melbourne’s Network of Schools as a template for its success.
“They’ve done a lot of research into the teaching strategies that are most effective instead of wasting your time on the teaching strategies that have low impact,” Mr Muscat said.
“We’re finding that it’s having really good traction in our school,” he said.
Sick of the media attention, Mr Muscat is looking forward to settling down on the couch with his daughter, a former student at Kambrya, and wife who works at the school for the next episode.
