Pulling off the event means the pupils successfully completed an essential 

component of the course they are studying – their design and review project.

The project combined two units of study that will hopefully help them attain 

a Certificate II in general education for Adults.

And, if they do get their certificates, it looks like the majority of the class will be heading back to high school to complete Years 11 and 12.

It was a pleasing outcome for their tutor, Belinda Smith, 

as the aim of the program is to re-engage students that have “for one reason or another” lost the motivation to learn.

“Throughout Year nine at Singleton High all the boys had bad attendance records,” she said.

“However, when I was completing their mid-term report cards not one of them had an unexplained absence.  

“They are a great bunch of kids and each one of them has grown so much.  

“Here, they are able to be themselves, explore their individual interests, discover their strengths and work out where they are headed.  

“Of course, we have rules but the smaller class sizes mean they get more freedom.”

Before this program, enduring mainstream classes was a bit like trying to fit a square peg into a round hole, Ms Smith explains.

Student Jo Sneddon produced a sizable wad of bright purple absentee slips from his bag and estimates he had around 167 days off school last year but is now determined to complete his senior certificate.

Jo says the more “chilled” learning environment where everyone has respect for each other makes learning enjoyable.

“I have learned many new skills, practical ones like teamwork and responsibility,” he told The Argus.

“I want to go back to the high school to prove I can do it.

“Most of us in the group did not even talk to each other at the start of the course, actually a lot of us fought but now we all get along.”

The course requires students to spend two days in the classroom and the rest of the time in the workplace or at TAFE.