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Several All Saints’ College students are taking their learning to the next level through Curtin University’s Rising Scholar Program, an initiative designed to give secondary students a head start in tertiary education.

While still in school, these students are immersing themselves in university life, studying real Curtin units alongside current undergraduates, earning credit towards a future degree, and gaining access to world-class academics, facilities and support.

Whether attending classes on campus, online, or through blended learning, participants in the Rising Scholars Program are engaging with challenging content, building confidence and curiosity, and experiencing firsthand what it’s like to be part of a university community.

Through this unique opportunity, our students are extending themselves academically while also laying strong foundations for their futures beyond the College.

Grace (Year 11) and Liam (Year 12) take us through their experiences and what balancing school and uni looks like for them! 

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A Taste of Uni Life

Liam (Year 12) – Human Structure and Function

I chose to apply for the Rising Scholars Program as I wanted to see what the university experience was like. Being in Year 12, uni is going to be a big part of my life very soon. So I’m taking this opportunity to prepare myself for what is to come. I also had a big interest in some of the units that Curtin was offering for this program.

I selected the Human Structure and Function course. This aligned with my passion for human biology that I have gained over my upper high school experience. This is also a massive aspect of my dream career in the future of medicine, as this is a core introductory unit that can be used towards getting a degree in medicine.

Settling into Uni Life

As an online student, my content is released for the week every Thursday. This content is compiled into compendiums for each week. This includes lectures, workbooks, practice questions and additional resources. I like to try and get my lectures and notes finished before Wednesday, as the following day I have an online workshop and I want to be able to contribute to help with my revision. I normally use study periods and weekends to do this.

I attend all of my classes online. This is due to my very full schedule that I have balancing five ATAR subjects, sports training and work.

Lectures vary from week to week so I am learning how to balance my workload.

The Blackboard platform, which Curtin uses for all online learning, took a little bit of practice to get used to, in terms of finding where to get practice questions, where to find my lectures, and where to ask questions to the group or my tutor.

Feeling like a Uni Student

It feels different, which is to be expected, but I much prefer it. I have been looking forward to uni life for the last few years. I’m not as big of a fan of structured work that high school often consists of. I’m really enjoying having some freedom to learn at my own pace and being treated with more trust.

As a Year 12 student, I have taken both ATAR Human Bio Year 11 and 12, which follow a lot of the concepts covered in my uni unit. The big difference is the pace. A concept I learned in Year 11 that took a week is compiled into two slides of a lecture. I expected a fast pace, but this was even more than I expected. I was also surprised to see some prior knowledge required in reference to the locations of organs in the body in relation to each other, which was never explicitly mentioned but became evident in the practice questions in Compendium 1.

So far in my lectures, I have gained knowledge in areas such as anatomical terminology, body organisation, tissue types, cells and serous membranes. I hope to gain an extension of my already reasonably extensive human biology knowledge. I also have huge motivation to aim for the highest award achievable for this unit, which is the Vice Chancellor’s Commendation for scoring 90% or above for the overall unit.

What’s next?

The RSP has reinforced my plan for university. My end goal is medicine. I plan to study biomedical sciences for a year starting next year, take part in the UCAT and Casper exams, and course swap into Medicine. For this to be possible, I need to be scoring above 80% across all my units, which is another reason I want to excel in this course — as this unit is a part of the eight I need to complete to swap courses.

I came into the course prepared that it wasn’t going to be easy. Knowing this, I have been able to stay on top of all new content as it comes out and take part in all workshops with confidence.

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My Journey into Planetary Science at Curtin

Grace (Year 11) - Planetary Science

Before Day 1
The Rising Scholar Program runs between All Saints’ College and Curtin University and allows students in high school to take first-year university courses.

I chose to apply because I wanted to experience how university life works. In addition to that, they had a course on offer that I am very passionate in, and I wanted to give it a go to extend my knowledge on the topic.

The course I chose was Planetary Science. I chose this course because my dream from the ripe age of eight has been to become an astrophysicist and this course could bring me one step closer. Anything space related makes me so eager and ready to learn, so I couldn’t say no to this opportunity to learn more about what happens beyond our planet.

Attending Classes
For this program I attend classes on campus and also online. I miss out on two hours of school per week for my labs. This is not compulsory for all units but because this course falls into the science category, laboratories are compulsory to attend.

There are around three to five classes so I choose one that fits my timetable at school best. There is also a two-hour lecture once a week, however, they are recorded, and I can watch it my own time throughout the school week/weekend if I need to.

I have a weekly quiz that goes towards my grade, a group assignment and an individual assessment. In my course, I am fortunate enough to not have an exam at the conclusion of the semester, but other units do depend on the course outline.

I have had to use a variety of new platforms through Curtin including Oasis and Blackboard. These websites contain emails to notify me about my classes and other events occurring at Curtin, my university personal/and medical information, and provide me with my timetable, assessments, grades, weekly outlines and unit outlines. These sites are incredibly helpful to organise and keep up to date with our course materials.

Feeling Like a Uni Student
I get the same treatment as every other university student and have the same circumstances as them. Although it may seem scary, it feels great.

I have gained a new level of responsibility, organisation and collaboration that really helps build confidence and a wide range of skills that will benefit me in the school environment and in the real world. I have learnt to be more independent through this journey, and this will prepare me for my days after high school.

The pace of learning does travel quite fast; however, my professors and peers have been helpful in supporting me and answering questions. Additionally, having a good routine has helped me keep up and retain knowledge.

What I’ve Learned So Far

So far, I have learnt a lot of fascinating content. I have learnt about some of the history of astronomy, planet composition, rotation, orbits and formation, graphing celestial activity, relationships between different bodies in our solar system, planetary motion, Kepler’s laws, everything about meteors, comets, and asteroids, everything about different moons, star formation, solar system formation, and all the theories and links around them!

From this course I hope to gain more knowledge on our solar system and what may lie beyond it, I hope to gain a stronger passion for space science and feel more confident in university life and pursuing my goals.

Before this unit class commenced, I was nervous that I wouldn’t be able to keep up and I would be judged, and I thought of just dropping out. However, now that I am experiencing university life, I’m so happy I didn’t let the negative voices win.

This course has only strengthened my passions and additionally made me so excited about when I am able to attend university full time. University, especially Curtin, is very accepting, diverse, and special and I have benefited from the knowledge, experience and insights I have gained.