Select Entry Accelerated Learning (SEAL) Program
Warrnambool College is a founding member of The Academy of Accredited SEAL Schools (TAASS). The College has the only TAASS accredited Learning Program in South West Victoria.
SEAL is a Program for the top 5 – 10% of students. Research has consistently documented that these students learn best when placed with their intellectual peers.
Ability grouping with adjusted content and pace is the single most successful way of providing for the academic and social needs of gifted students. Since 2004, Warrnambool College has conducted a Select Entry Accelerated Learning (SEAL) Program for students with exceptional academic ability. Warrnambool College is one of a small number of schools in Victoria who have been accredited by The Academy of Accredited SEAL Schools (TAASS) and the only school in the South West to be a member of TAASS. There is ample evidence of the emotional and social advantages that are inherent in curricula tailored to the needs of talented learners.
What Does Acceleration Mean?
The Select Entry Accelerated Learning Program allows students to progress through their secondary education more quickly by providing challenging learning experiences that are more tailored to the needs of talented learners. There is a greater emphasis on higher order thinking and learning skills and independent learning and research. Course content is compacted so that a normal year 7-‐10 program is covered more quickly without omitting anything. The accelerated program contains much less repetition. These students just don’t need it, as opposed to mainstream classes, where repetition is a normal part of the learning process. Enrichment is provided by broadening content, understanding, experience and skills to a level appropriate to the students’ stages of development. Extension leads to in-depth study and the integration and application of knowledge at a deeper level. As part of the SEAL Program students administratively complete years 7, 8 and 10. In years 7 and 8 they are in a class together. In year 10 they undertake all their core classes together. SEAL Program students are then able to complete a three year VCE which may include a TAFE subject, School Based Apprenticeship or University subject.
How Do Students Gain Selection?
Grade 6 students whose families wish them to enter the Select Entry Accelerated Learning Program will be required to participate in a selection process which includes testing on Wednesday 21st August and a confidential reference from the child’s grade 5 or 6 teacher. There is a cost of $88 which partly covers the cost of the tests.
Please note that any grade 6 student is welcome to apply and test for the SEAL program, but students selected into the programs will only be drawn from those able to be enrolled in the College on the basis of the priority order of placement.
Those students who are accepted into the program will be grouped together in one form when entering year 7 and will remain with that group until the end of the third year, provided they continue to meet the academic requirements of the program. In this time, four years of study will be completed in three years. Although accelerated, the program is fully sequential, with no ‘grade skipping’. It is comprehensive, providing acceleration across a broad spectrum of subjects. It is cohort-based, providing each participant with a supportive peer-group environment, rather than offering acceleration through ‘withdrawal’ from the classroom. Specific SEAL Program Information will be available at the College’s Open Night or by emailing our SEAL coordinator's Jenn Penn at