Welcome to the Senior School!

The role of the Director of Senior Schooling is to be of service to the Heads of Faculty and assist them in their leadership in the core enterprise of the College, teaching and learning. Within a Jesuit College the curriculum is the road map to implement the mission of creating young people who are going to make a difference in this world by their generosity, service and justice. The ultimate goal of Jesuit education is Ad Maiorem Dei Gloriam, (AMDG) or For the Greater Glory of God. The office of Senior Schooling encompasses the broad spectrum of teaching and learning from Years 9 to 12 ( 900 boys). Within the structure of the College's management and administration, the office is charged with the responsibility of overseeing the direction, content and vision of the curriculum.
From the Arts to Technology, from the Sciences to the Languages, from History to Mathematics, from the Social Sciences to Literature, from Religious Education to Physical Education the Riverview student is challenged to 'find God in all things.'

The College prides itself on striving for academic excellence, quality and innovative teaching which allows students to achieve their best academically while still participating in a wide range of co-curricular activities. Please use the site map to read more.

Peter McLean
Director of Senior Schooling

Spiritual formation, like learning, never ends, and so there is a wide range of activities that staff are invited and encouraged to participate in during their time at Riverview. Although some of the programs are specifically for teachers, others are more general and all staff members are welcome to participate. One of the activities is a three day retreat, held away from the College, which introduces staff to the outline of the Spiritual Exercises. Also each year there is an opportunity to undertake a retreat in daily life, in which the participant prays daily and meets regularly with a spiritual director. Structured reading programs are another popular option.

The Jesuit Tradition

Jesuit education seeks to be world affirming - to reveal a world 'charged with the grandeur of God'. It encourages study of all reality, promoting the search for God in all things while respecting the infinite variety of ways in which God is revealed to an individual. Its objective is to produce wisdom and a deep sense of reverence rather than marketability or a narrow orientation towards a specific career.

Ignatius Loyola, founder of the Society of Jesus -- the Jesuits, was a man of global vision living at a time when horizons were being extended and new cultures were developing. For more than 400 years, following in Ignatius's footsteps, teachers in Jesuit schools have lived through great changes such as those brought about by the printing press, the industrial revolution, the development of the New World, the burgeoning of science, and major political revolutions. Through all these times they have taught young people, introducing them to seminal knowledge and instructing them in the principles of the Catholic faith. Their experience, their reflections on the nature of education, and their views on how best to prepare the young to act for the benefit of others provide wisdom and guidance for all Jesuit schools.

Their collective experience is documented in the Characteristics of Jesuit Education, a publication prepared by an international commission of the Society of Jesus in 1986. It is the modern equivalent of the Ratio Studiorum, the name of the first formal rationale of Jesuit education published 400 years ago. The curriculum at St Ignatius' College incorporates and is guided by the Characteristics.

Jesuit Education

Jesuit education has been described as the formation of young men taking place over time . The continual interplay of experience, reflection and action in the teaching/learning process lies at the heart of Ignatian teaching practice (the Ignatian Pedagogical Paradigm) and all aspects of school life impart the Ignatian message. Fundamental to Jesuit practice is cura personalis, that is, an approach which exhibits respect for the individual's identity, and balance and flexibility in dealing with the individual's gifts, needs and educative readiness. Further, Jesuit education emphasises the fundamental importance of generosity in the service of others -- following the model of Jesus Christ in becoming 'men for others'.

The focus of College curriculum, therefore, is on helping students prepare to engage in serving the world. Our emphasis is on the acquisition of skills we believe to be appropriate for students who will face considerable challenges throughout their lives and who will need the flexibility and capacity to deal with them. We promote the study of subjects, which encourage clear thinking, analysis, logic and reasoned argument -- universal skills acknowledged as essential for success in any vocation.

Religious Education

Religious and spiritual formation are integral to Jesuit education. All students are to receive a thorough religious education in order to become well versed in the precepts of Catholicism, to develop a commitment of faith which prepares them to act in the interests of the marginalised, the dispossessed and the poor, and to seek justice for all people. To this end, students --and their families -- are expected to embrace and exhibit a positive attitude to religious education classes and to liturgy, an attitude that is in sympathy with the values espoused by the College.

The Characteristics of Jesuit Education

In terms of curriculum areas emphasised by the Characteristics, Jesuit education

• seeks to demonstrate mastery of basic humanistic and scientific disciplines through careful and sustained study; and also a growing ability to reason reflectively, logically and critically;
• emphasises traditional humanistic studies (eg language, literature and history) essential for an understanding of the human person;
• includes careful and critical study of technology and the physical and social sciences;
• gives particular care to the development of the imaginative and creative dimensions of each student;
• includes opportunities, through curricular and co-curricular pursuits, for all students to come to an appreciation of literature, aesthetics, music and the fine arts;
• emphasises the ability to work collaboratively with others as part of a team;
• develops traditional skills in speaking and writing in the belief that the development of effective communication skills will always remain important for leaders;
• includes programs which enable students to understand and critically evaluate the influence of mass media;
• includes a well developed program of sports and physical education

Curriculum Implications for Students

All students at the College are expected to meet the requirements of the Board of Studies of New South Wales in regard to the School Certificate and the Higher School Certificate, as well as to respond to formation flowing from the Jesuit tradition. This tradition expects, for instance, that those young men who demonstrate interest or talent in certain subjects will follow those subjects at an appropriately challenging level. The College motto - Quantum potes, tantum aude, As much as you can do, so much dare to do - indicates how important it is for students to make every effort to reach their highest potential, to do their utmost (Jesuits call this the magis), not only in the interests of learning but also of developing self discipline and discernment, that is, striving to identify the best way of proceeding.

The College pays particular attention to the study of those subjects -- English, history, mathematics and science, classical and foreign languages - which help students acquire skills in the communication and analysis of ideas, the development of logical and reflective thinking. Students who show talent and aptitude in response to the challenge of particular subjects can expect to continue studying those subjects through their school career. Occasionally, however, such study may have to be conducted with some flexibility - for example, with classes outside the school timetable. Other students may have the option of taking an advanced course at university level.

Jesuit education, then, aims to develop in the young the ability to assess, serve and constructively criticise the world in which they find themselves. The curriculum offered by the College and the advice given to students are designed to achieve those objectives and to develop each individual's potential.