The Pascoe Vale Girls’ college motto, “Virtue Kindles Strength”, highlights the dedication to excellence and the pride in the academic, cultural, sporting, leadership and community achievements of the students since 1956. The college has an ethos that fosters the development of self-confident, creative, responsible and intelligent young women who readily take their place in society. Uniform is compulsory.
Facilities: The learning environment is of prime importance to stimulate and motivate students. The college is set in 15 acres of beautifully landscaped grounds which boast a wide variety of native plants and trees, playing areas for athletics, football, soccer, hockey, archery, tennis, basketball and netball, as well as passive relaxation spaces for the Junior, Middle and Senior students. Information communication technology is integrated across all Key Learning Areas: English, Humanities, Mathematics, Science, Arts, LOTE (French, Italian, Japanese and Arabic), SHAPE (Food Technology, Health, Hospitality, Physical Education and Sport Education) and Technology (information, systems and design). Physical facilities at the college are constantly being upgraded. Three new buildings incorporate the latest in design and equipment: the Administration area, the Academy of the Sciences and the Academy of the Humanities. Meeting, study and assembly areas are also available and well utilised. Student learning is nurtured in a safe and supportive environment.
Curriculum: A broad range of VCE studies is offered including Psychology, Information Systems, LOTE (Arabic, French, Italian and Japanese), Photography, Economics, and VET certificates in Hospitality and Multimedia. Enrichment programs are available in Years 7 to 10 and well-developed literacy and numeracy programs are available. The Integration program is outstanding, catering for students with disabilities from Years 7 to 12.
Sport: As a member of the Victorian Secondary Schools’ Sports Association, the college competes in a range of summer and winter sports. Netball, basketball, softball, hockey, cricket, volleyball, badminton, table tennis, tennis, football and soccer are involved each year. There are house swimming and athletics carnivals.
Extra-curricular activities: Activities include drama, bands, musical ensemble performances, Wakakiri, Mathematics & Science and Debating & Public Speaking competitions, camping program, Junior School lunchtime program, environment teams, International Women’s Day, College presentations, cultural celebrations, school magazine and Student Representative Council. There are two sister-school relationships: one in Japan and one in NZ.
Student welfare programs: Pastoral care is administered through an excellent network of pastoral leaders, form teachers, four year-level co-ordinators and a head of school in each of the Junior, Middle and Senior Schools. The student welfare co-ordinator, a visiting social worker, education psychologist and a teacher for hearing loss support the students. There are highly effective tutorial programs for Year 12, assistance in Year 11 and tutoring for Years 7 to 10 students out-of-hours. Social service student contributions support numerous charities yearly.