Students at a prestigious Catholic girls’ school in Melbourne’s east will be able to explore a new way to access their education from 2025.
Genazzano FCJ College principal Loretta Wholley says combining in-person learning delivered by staff at the Kew school, with virtual, screen-based learning via the state-run Virtual Schools Victoria will enable the 135-year-old school to prepare students for in the increasingly online-driven world of tertiary study.
“If we know that’s what’s ahead, then we have to prepare them for that. This will give them the independent learning skills that they need to transfer into their tertiary studies,” Wholley says.
Combining social skills with online learning
Wholley says that creating an online and on-campus model helps students maintain social connections and learn life skills – including important people-management skills.
“Let’s be honest, we all work with people we don’t particularly like all the time, but we have to learn to get the best out of each other,” Wholley says.
“These are really important skills for life.”
The voluntary program for year 10 and 11 students will enable the school to increase the subjects offered to year 10 and 11 students from 30 to 46, with the potential for additional subjects to be added in 2026.
The virtual element requires students to be on campus at a dedicated learning hub, with Genazzano support teachers actively monitoring students’ progress.
Tuition fees for the hybrid model, known as Studio Beyond, will be the same as full-time, face-to-face teaching – which costs $34,623 a year for year 10 and 11 students. Virtual Schools Victoria charges non-government schools $850 per subject.
Genazzano initially developed a dedicated online learning model in 2022 to cater for two students engaged in elite level dance and sport performance commitments that made it impossible for them to attend traditional classes. But Wholley says the hybrid model has the potential to benefit disengaged students, a cohort she estimates as less than two per cent of the current student population.
“I wouldn’t classify them as school refusers because we do get them to school. It’s just sometimes they aren’t able to make it through the day and that’s normally due to mental health or anxiety.”
Hybrid model creates interesting union
Monash University online teaching and learning Professor Michael Phillips says the approach is novel for a mainstream education provider and creates an interesting union between the Catholic education sector and the government sector, that runs Virtual Schools Victoria.
Phillips says that, although it’s difficult to determine if Genazzano’s hybrid model would better prepare students for tertiary study, his own research into online study at school reveals the approach could have a positive impact on academic results for some.
“Online learning allows for more comprehensive and instant feedback for the student. Any areas where they have weaknesses can be addressed early.”
