Select Entry Accelerated Learning

A Select Entry Accelerated Learning (SEAL) program is a form of streaming used in government secondary schools in Victoria, Australia to provide a focused educational environment for academically gifted children.^[1][2]

The program allows students to undertake Year 8 work in Year 7, and the option to complete their secondary education in five years instead of six, or students can choose to undertake a more comprehensive Victorian Certificate of Education that takes three years instead of two.^[3][4]

Victoria currently has four government secondary schools which are entirely selective entry: Melbourne High School, Mac.Robertson Girls' High School, Nossal High School and Suzanne Cory High School,^[5] plus five selective schools: John Monash Science School (which has a science focus), Victorian College of the Arts Secondary School (which specialises in dance, music and visual arts), Maribyrnong Secondary College (with specialist sport programs), the Flying Fruit Fly Circus School, and The Alpine School (an intensive leadership and enterprise program for year 9).^[6]

Controversies

As a form of streaming, SEAL programs by their very nature attract criticism from those committed to the principles of comprehensive education. Additionally, because they are not offered by every school, the schools that run them are argued to take away the top students from schools that don't, thus leading to a pool of less diverse schools and a concentration of bright students in a small number of schools. ^{[7][8][9][10]}

Schools with SEAL programs

Secondary schools in Victoria offering SEAL programs:^[11]

• Albert Park College
• Auburn High School
• Balwyn High School
• Bellarine Secondary College
• Belmont High School
• Box Hill High School
• Brighton Secondary College
• Brunswick Secondary College
• Buckley Park College
• Canterbury Girls' Secondary College
• Dandenong High School
• Emerald Secondary College
• Fairhills High School
• Footscray City College
• Gladstone Park Secondary College
• Gleneagles Secondary College
• Horsham College
• Kambrya College
• Keilor Downs College
• Koo Wee Rup Secondary College
• Lilydale High School
• Lyndale Secondary College
• Matthew Flinders Girls High School
• McGuire College
• Mill Park Secondary College
• Mordialloc College
• Mount Clear College
• Mount Erin Secondary College
• Reservoir High School
• Rosebud Secondary College
• Sale College
• St Albans Secondary College
• Staughton College
• Trafalgar High School
• University High School
• Wangaratta High School
• Werribee Secondary College
• Williamstown High School
• Wodonga Middle Years College
• Wonthaggi Secondary College

References

1. "Select Entry Acceleration Learning (SEAL) Programs". State of Victoria (Department of Education). October 4, 2006. Archived from the original on 2007-03-02.
2. "Acceleration Options". State of Victoria (Department of Education). October 4, 2006. Archived from the original on 2007-03-02.
3. Pung, Alice (February 2, 2013). "It's just a swot hop to the top". The Australian (Newscorp). Archived from the original on 2013-02-08. (subscription required (help)).
4. "Select Entry Accelerated Learning Programs". Department of Education and Training. 8 December 2014.
5. "Selective Entry High Schools". Department of Education and Training. 17 February 2015.
6. "Types of Government Schools". Department of Education and Training. 28 September 2013.
7. Guy, Roslyn (February 26, 2005). "Gifted pupils drift from state schools". The Age.
8. Guy, Roslyn (March 5, 2005). "SEAL performs but not all applaud". The Age.
9. "Selective entry: the state school dilemma". The Age. October 5, 2004.
10. Siobhan, Duck (May 1, 2007). "Test Case". The Herald Sun. Archived from the original on 2011-06-15.
11. "Select Entry Accelerated Learning Program". Department of Education and Early Childhood Development. 24 October 2012. Archived from the original on 2013-05-11.