Senior School

The senior years at Walford empower students to be ‘world ready’ by providing diverse and tailored pathways so that each young woman can achieve her best, her way. In Years 10-12 each student prepares for life beyond school, supported by mentors and staff to map a flexible, personalised pathway that leads to the realisation of her aspirations.

Learning and Teaching

Walford’s outstanding record of academic success is the result of high-quality teaching by staff who are passionate about their subjects and who themselves, are lifelong learners. Students are immersed in a collaborative culture which supports and encourages everyone to aim high to achieve their best.

A broad range of subjects and pathways are available at Walford, enabling students to discover their strengths and interests as they prepare for tertiary and career possibilities. Not every student will know what career she will pursue beyond school but she will be guided to develop a portfolio of skills, knowledge, capabilities and attributes that will prepare her for the many pathways she will experience in the future.

International Baccalaureate Diploma

Since 2004, Walford has offered the International Baccalaureate Diploma (IBD), a rigorous and globally-minded curriculum pathway that prepares students for study and a career anywhere in the world. From 2024, Walford will no longer offer the IBD, and has instead reinvigorated its Senior School academic framework to allow for greater choice across a wider range of subjects as the School continues to provide flexible and tailored ways to enrich, extend and personalise opportunities for all students.

The South Australian Certificate of Education (SACE)

The South Australian Certificate of Education (SACE) is an internationally recognised secondary school qualification that provides a broad range of subject options that lead to tertiary study. Whilst most students will complete the SACE in their final two years of schooling, Walford provides a flexible approach enabling students to undertake some SACE subjects earlier as part of a personalised enrichment pathway.

As part of their SACE studies, a number of students elect to undertake a certified Vocational Education Training (VET) Course. These courses are designed to provide skills-based experiences in career related fields and can lead to School Based Apprenticeships and Traineeships, as well as tertiary study.

Wellbeing, Engagement and Belonging (WEB)

The move from adolescent to adult and the realisation that school years are coming to an end can be both exhilarating and daunting for young people. It is during the Senior years of Schooling that young people come to realise that a world of opportunity awaits them and at Walford, we aim to help young adults develop the social and emotional capabilities needed to flourish in an ever-changing world.

Wellbeing underpins all learning and permeates every aspect of school and life. However, like our academic program, our wellbeing (WEB) framework is thoughtfully and intentionally crafted providing challenging and rewarding opportunities for learning and growth.

In the Senior School each student has her own mentor, a teacher, who supports, guides and encourages her academic and personal growth. Girls see their mentor every day and it is through this close contact that they are able to carefully plan a healthy, achievable schedule, develop study habits and participate in the myriad of activities on offer at Walford within and beyond the classroom in a balanced way. The mentors work in partnership with the Heads of House, School Counsellor, wellbeing curriculum coordinator and the Heads of School to provide a “wrap around approach” that supports the emotional needs of students during these 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 WEB 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 the senior school, WEB sessions are run in vertical groupings providing valuable peer mentoring and support which is proven to be most beneficial at this age and stage of development.

Leading and Leadership

As our future leaders, this generation of graduates will need to be empowered to feel that they can shape a world and a future that will enable humanity to thrive. There will be ethical and societal complexities and challenges that will require courageous decision making and brave leadership.

Students are strongly encouraged to lead at Walford in a range of formal and informal roles.

Some of these roles in the Senior School include:

  • Sports Captains
  • House Captains
  • Music Captains
  • Debating Captains
  • Year 10 Committee
  • Traffic Monitors
  • Sport Coaches
  • Sport Umpires
  • Peers Support Leaders
  • School Ambassadors
  • Social Engagement Team
  • Student Wellbeing Committee
  • Boarding House Captain, Vice-Captain and Prefects
  • Student Council
  • School Captain and Vice-Captain

Beyond the Classroom

As senior students prepare for life beyond the school gates, there are opportunities to develop further skills and interests outside of the classroom. Some of these include:

  • The careers and work experience program
  • Headstart University Program
  • The Duke of Edinburgh’s International Award
  • Sprout cooking classes
  • Year 10 Expedition
  • Healthy Relationships Initiative
  • Year 12 Retreat

Explore our Senior School