Which schools suit what your child loves?

Review Chances to take part in the arts

In Year 11, students can choose to specialise in one or two arts subjects. Being a music student, I thought the opportunities were really cool (eg; getting a professional string quartet to play your composition) and loved the recording studio. Other disciplines also always had their own events like theatre performances and art showcases. It was nice to see other students work. Albeit, it is important to note that while there is this creative freedom, it is still limited by the IB guidelines and assessments.

Review Year 12 subject choices

I did Math AA HL, Lang and Lit HL, French ab initio, Dance HL, Psychology HL, ESS SL and TOK. I liked all my subjects, I wish I did a different science but I really enjoyed ESS because the environment is very important to me but other sciences would help me more in uni. I think I liked learning all the subjects and I was good at them.

Review Subject range and curiosity

They had a good range of subjects and once I wanted to study something they didn't offer and they supported me to do this online. I changed my mind but they are very open at getting students to achieve their goals however they need learning to be. They have great support staff to discuss careers and goals which help students follow their passion and this is encouraged. They will help people find opportunities. They have intensives with universities to experience the course. For dance they had numerous guest choreographers to teach different styles and cultural dances to expand our horizons with dance.

Review Preparing for entry

I did not do any specific preparation. I just made sure I understood everything I was currently doing at school and read through all the details to be as prepared as I could be. I think I discussed my dance in my interview as well as my other commitments like drama and stem club, which may have helped me.

Review What had the biggest impact

I had so many amazing teachers that really went out of their way to make sure everyone had a good learning experience. They would volunteer their personal time to set up practice exam sessions and consultations. The teachers took time to notice the people in their class and what might help them. The dance program was very special to me, I was originally very anxious to perform but QACI nurtures and encourages you to express your creativity.

Review Camps and excursions

QACI only had one camp for everyone at the start of year 10 which I did not love. But we also went to Dreamworld for a science excursion which was fun. The dance students also did trips to see performances which was really great. I liked when we went to QUT and joined in with the uni program.

Review Year 12 subject choices

English SL, Mandarin Ab Initio, Psychology HL, Biology HL, Math AI SL, Music HL I wish I had done a different language instead of Mandarin, as it was very difficult. However, I loved the teacher and the class so it’s not a deep regret. I also wish I took biology at an SL level or did chemistry instead, because I later realised it was not a strong subject of mine.

Review Readiness for life after school

Partaking in the IB, I think I felt very prepared. In my opinion, the workload I do at uni now is quite similar to the IB workload that I did during high school. Before we graduated, the school did make every student consult the guidance counsellor to see what our uni plans were and talk about pathways so I think it did help people feel somewhat prepared.

Review Subject range and curiosity

Specialising in the arts, the school offered numerous choices for art disciplines such as music, visual arts, dance, film, design tech, etc. For other groups, it might’ve been more scarce. For Group 3 (humanities) students only had the option of picking Psychology or Business or Environmental Systems, so that may have limited people’s interests.

Review Would you recommend it?

I would recommend this school if you would like to be surrounded by like-minded peers with very nice facilities. Specialising in the arts, there are many resources for these students - as a music student myself, I loved the recording studio. During my time however, there were a lot of staff changes which made learning a bit difficult, although I could tell teachers were trying their best. If you are more academically inclined and lean towards stem subjects, I would recommend QASMT more.

Review What had the biggest impact

The biggest impact on me was probably the connections you make. I made a lot of close friends at QACI and there is a lot of events surrounding “school spirit” that make your time fun. I also am grateful for opportunities that I wouldn’t have had elsewhere, such as recording in a music studio, helping my visual art friends paint, and learning the IB program.