Le Fevre High School

The Hon. P. CAICA (Colton) (14:53): My question is to the Minister for Education and Child Development. Can the minister update the house on her recent visit to Le Fevre High School?

The Hon. S.E. CLOSE (Port Adelaide—Minister for Education and Child Development, Minister for Higher Education and Skills) (14:54): Yes, I am delighted to update the house on a recent visit. Members will be aware that Le Fevre High School, although relatively close to where I live and adjacent to my electorate, and indeed there are children who are in my electorate who attend that school, is in the seat of Lee. When I recently attended Le Fevre High School, I was accompanied by the local member.

Members may be aware, those who have been around for a little while, that in about 2011 the school was made into a Maritime High School. This meant that they were provided with a $600,000 investment by the state government at that time to create a specialist program for students to learn skills for future careers in maritime and defence industries.

Of course, that investment is now very much coming into its own, with the commitments for the off-shore patrol vessels and the Future Submarines project. The kids who are studying in high school today, particularly those in the younger years of high school, are going to be eligible and ready for work at Techport in time to come and in any other businesses that will be allied to the work being done at Techport.

I did recently visit Le Fevre High, on 4 May, and had the privilege to see the dedication of the teachers and the students. I would like to say that whenever I visit schools it is the students who stand out. Their interest in talking about what they are studying is impressive. Their understanding of what they are studying now being important for their future is exciting to see. Their commitment and their intellectual engagement is fantastic to see and always so inspiring.

What it means to have a specialist maritime-focused school is that there are key principles—interestingly, spelt as 'principles' not 'principals'—related to shipbuilding and integrated into everyday science and maths curriculum—

Mr Knoll interjecting:

The Hon. S.E. CLOSE: —it could have been my error that I have observed also; it is always possible—that is studied everywhere. While doing the curriculum for science and maths (that is, the Australian curriculum that is studied in all schools), the principles of shipbuilding and also maritime work more generally (maritime architecture and so on) are built in through that curriculum. An example is that year 8 students might look at whole-volume calculations in mathematics, while year 12 physics students are taught about parabolic trajectories.

Students can also enrol in specific courses, such as naval engineering, and the school offers and brokers VET courses, such as maritime pathways and maritime engineering trades. Le Fevre High School has critical links with the Navy and companies such as ASC (formerly the Australian Submarine Corporation) and the Australian Maritime and Fisheries Academy, which means that students are able to have a practical application to their studies while they are undertaking their studies. Students get an understanding of what it might be like to enter the defence and maritime industry and can easily see the direct link between what they may be studying in the classroom and what happens on the job.

SACE stage 1 naval engineering students, for example, participate in the Re-Engineering Australia (REA) SUBS in Schools program, which is a fantastic program to watch. I recently met the team from St Peter's Girls', who won the state and nationals competition in that. SUBS in Schools is a competition where students build a submersible vehicle or submarine and compete in a number of challenges, both to see how their vehicle works and to test their knowledge. Le Fevre High School students claimed first place in the sea trials category in 2015.

The program puts students in a great position not only to get jobs but to build careers in areas such as engineering, high-tech electronics, computer systems and in the shipbuilding trades. Over the last five years, about 150 students have completed a maritime-related course at Le Fevre High School. Many students have earned apprenticeships in local industries, and I am informed by the school that approximately 85 per cent of students from the senior naval architecture course end up being directly employed in the maritime industry or undertaking further study in maritime studies.