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Across Humanities, Social Sciences and Senior English, the same underlying skill keeps showing up: the ability to plan an argument, support it with evidence and write it clearly under time pressure. It’s a skill that develops in stages and it looks different depending on where a student is in their schooling.
Rather than running one generic writing workshop for every year level, Arrendell Secondary Education Centre has built three separate sessions, each pitched at a different stage of that journey. A Year 7 student learning to structure a paragraph needs something different from a Year 12 student refining a Module C response for the HSC. The workshops below reflect that.
Taught by Jason Newell, an experienced Senior High School English teacher and HSC marker, this session is built specifically around the requirements of Module C.
Students work through the three text types most relevant to this module: imaginative, persuasive and discursive. They explore what distinguishes strong responses from weaker ones, based directly on marker feedback. The session also covers how to write an effective reflection for each writing style and how to adapt a response to suit different mark values. Students leave with practical writing they can continue to refine throughout their trial exams and into the HSC itself.
Taught by Claire Carpenter, a highly experienced Senior English teacher, this two-day workshop addresses the essay writing skills that underpin success across Senior English, Humanities, Social Sciences and parts of Science.
Claire guides students through question analysis, planning a logical argument, using evidence effectively and crafting strong introductions and conclusions. Beyond the fundamentals of essay structure, students refine their language and sentence construction while developing the higher-order thinking, analysis, creative insight and inference that distinguish original ideas from responses that simply follow a formula or have been generated for them. Because the group remains small, Claire is able to tailor her guidance to each student’s starting point and individual goals across the two-day workshop.
The first encounter with essay writing at high school can feel like a lot at once, TEEL paragraphs, question analysis, planning, structure and vocabulary, all arriving in the same year. Some schools expect students to manage an unseen essay question by the end of Year 7, others by the end of Year 8, ahead of the step up in Year 9. Either way, the earlier those foundations are laid, the steadier that transition tends to be.
Natasha Rusterholz, a highly skilled and engaging English teacher, leads this workshop with a strong focus on making the underlying thinking, analysis, thesis development and planning feel manageable rather than abstract. Students also spend time evaluating existing pieces of writing, working out what makes them effective, before experimenting with those same techniques in their own writing.
This workshop covers the reading, writing and mathematical reasoning components of the Selective High School Placement Test and similar scholarship exams, with an emphasis on building the underlying thinking skills, working through unfamiliar problems, reasoning through an argument and thinking a question through rather than reaching for a memorised answer. These are the same habits of mind that help a student settle into a selective school classroom once they are there, not just get through the entry test.
If your child is interested in Selective Schools or scholarship exam preparation, we are happy to discuss setting up a group. Contact Lynley Brennan on 0408 692 045 to talk through timing and fit.
Not every student needs a group workshop. For families who would prefer one-on-one support over the break, individual lessons are available across English, Social Sciences, Maths and Sciences for all year levels from Year 3 to Year 12.
These sessions are arranged directly with Director Lynley Brennan, based on your child’s specific subject, year level and what they need to work on. Call 0408 692 045 to make an arrangement or ask a question.
Whether a student is in Year 6 or Year 12, every Arrendell Secondary Education Centre workshop is led by a fully qualified, experienced teacher who is genuinely invested in seeing each student build real skill and understanding, not just get through the school holidays. Group sizes are kept deliberately small so that each teacher can work with each student individually within the session, rather than teaching to the middle of the room.
Our aim is to help students build their confidence, their knowledge and the underlying approach to learning that continues to support them well beyond these workshops.
Workshops are grouped by year level and by the specific skills that stage of schooling calls for, HSC Module C for Year 12, Senior Essay Writing for Years 9 to 11 and Junior Essay Writing for Years 6 to 8. If you are unsure which fits your child best, contact us and we can talk it through together.
The workshops are stand-alone sessions built around a specific learning focus for the holiday period. Many families also use them alongside term-time tutoring, since the skills built in a workshop tend to support the ongoing work students do with their regular tutor.
Individual lessons are available across English, Social Sciences, Maths and Sciences for Years 3 to 12 during the holiday break. Call Lynley Brennan on 0408 692 045 to arrange a session suited to your child’s specific subject and year level.
Adapting to the individual student is standard practice rather than a special arrangement. That adaptive delivery is embedded in how every Arrendell Secondary Education Centre tutor works, for students at any stage of their senior years.
Workshop places are limited by design, so that each teacher can genuinely work with every student in the room. If one of these sessions fits where your child is at, get in touch with Director Lynley Brennan to secure a place or ask any questions first.
Call Lynley directly on 0408 692 045.
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Call 0408 692 045
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