Middle School

The Walford Middle School provides a carefully-designed environment of care and challenge, and a bridge between the primary and senior years of schooling, to support each girl as she explores her identity, negotiates social groups and develops her character and voice. The Walford Middle School focuses on curiosity, lifelong learning skills, and rich knowledge, as well as opportunities for service, leadership, and challenge by choice.

Learning and Teaching

During Years 6-9, students will study a core of subjects that include English, Science, Mathematics, Humanities, the Arts (Drama, Visual Arts and Music), Health and Physical Education, Chinese/French, and Digital and Design Technologies.

Further to the core subjects, Middle School students undertake an exciting array of electives that have real-life application. These include business start-ups, philosophy (ways of thinking and knowing) and community service learning projects.

Each phase of the Middle School journey is underpinned by the concept of Her Voice, a thread woven through both curriculum and pastoral care learning activities. This knits together the classroom activities with key social and emotional developments relevant for each age and stage. Each Walford student emerges from the Middle School having grown as a young person ready to take on the challenges of her senior schooling years. 

Middle School Subject List

Wellbeing, Engagement and Belonging (WEB)

Wellbeing underpins all learning and permeates every aspect of School and life. The ecosystem of the Middle School ensures that teachers and pastoral leaders wrap around each student, and work in partnership with parents, to help each student to be organised, confident, kind and courageous in her choices. Walford’s responsive pastoral care programming creates space for our mentor teachers to deliver relevant content and support student’s development of skills. Our wellbeing framework is thoughtfully and intentionally crafted providing challenging and rewarding opportunities for learning and growth.

Each girl who enters the Middle School has her own Mentor who supports, guides and encourages her academic and personal growth. She sees her Mentor every day and is assisted to maintain a healthy, achievable schedule, develop her study habits and be encouraged to participate in the myriad experiences available to her within and beyond the classroom in a balanced way.

Mentors work in partnership with the Heads of House, School Counsellor, Wellbeing Coordinator and the Heads of School to provide a ‘wrap around’ approach that supports the emotional needs of students during these fundamental years.

Unique and central to Walford’s wellbeing framework is our Student Wellbeing Committee. This committee of student representatives from across all year levels, works closely with the School’s wellbeing professionals to co-create the content of the formal wellbeing program, ensuring that the topics covered are responsive to the real life needs of students at any given time. The School engages psychologists and key experts throughout the year to ensure that the topics explored are grounded in evidence based research.

In addition to their teacher Mentors, all students in Years 6 and 7 and new Year 8 and 9 students each have a peer support leader, an older girl in the School who is trained to provide support and encouragement that helps to build the confidence of their younger peers.

Leading and Leadership

Our world needs leaders who are confident, agile to change and capable of solving complex problems and it is critical that we help prepare tomorrow’s leaders, today. Nurturing and growing the leadership capabilities of adolescents so that they can influence change is underpinned by our school motto Virtute et Veritate – “With truth and moral courage”, reminding us that leadership is about bravely standing up for that which we know to be ethically right and true.
Students are strongly encouraged to lead at Walford in a range of formal and informal roles. Some of these roles include:

  • Student Ambassadors
  • Middle School Committee Representatives
  • Student Wellbeing Committee
  • Sporting Ambassadors
  • Road Crossing Monitors
  • Student buddies
  • Smith Family Student2Student program
  • Student Mentors (orchestra, choir, bands)
  • Sport Coaches
  • Junior School Umpires

Beyond the Classroom

Our Middle School students have a huge range of co-curricular opportunities from which to choose, as well as access to exciting business and entrepreneurship experiences. Camps and outdoor education experiences help to build resilience and offer students a chance to be challenged by choice, and shine in their own way. 

In addition to the many co-curricular opportunities available, the Walford Middle School encourages students to be active in a range of initiatives that encourage agency and self management, challenge thinking, grow friendships and are fun.

The knowledge and thinking of students is enriched through participation in a variety of competitions and experiences throughout the year. These include:

  • Extension Mathematics
  • Tournament of Minds and the da Vinci Decathlon
  • Festival of Ideas
  • Year 8 Start Ups – small businesses are brought to life at school
  • Enrichment pathways and accelerated subject study
  • Walford Literary Festival

Healthy attitudes towards sport and recreation are fostered throughout the Middle School along with opportunities to build performance capabilities through the co-curricular program and the following activities:

  • Year 6/7 Drama Production
  • School Musical
  • Sports Centre lunchtime activities
  • Interschool collaborations

Students are involved in many outreach programs through the year with the holiday mentoring program with KickStart for Kids a highlight.

Explore Walford

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