secondary school (13 - 18 years) - cycle 4 & 5

The Vision of the Secondary Program:

Maria Montessori likened the onset of adolescence to a re-birth. Just as the newborn child is dependent upon his or her parents to grow and thrive, the adolescent needs other people to develop fully. She called this their ‘social mission’ during which they need to learn from and about one another and about what it takes to establish and maintain a social community. Her vision of the future for secondary schooling was of individuals passing from one stage of independence to a higher, by means of their own activity, through their own effort of will. We provide a respectful, prepared environment developing resourceful individuals with a strong sense of self worth and a commitment to contributing to a global community.

Philosophy of the Secondary Program:

The five themes below are the philosophical pillars for the Perth Montessori School Secondary Program. 

1. The Student 

The teenage years are the sensitive period when students firmly set their personal values and sense of social responsibility. Our aim is to nurture and guide students in a course of self-discovery that enables the child both to understand and accept who they are. The path to self-discovery will provide the children with the opportunity to take control of their lives by modelling and teaching them a love of learning, self-motivation and a deep understanding of self and others. Students are regarded by the school community as adults in training.

2. The Montessori Director 

Montessori Directors embrace the Montessori approach with a depth of knowledge fuelled by a passion for learning and developing young minds in a nurturing, caring and supportive environment. 

3. The Perth Montessori School Community 

The Montessori Director, parents and students combine as a learning team for the benefit of all. Members are actively involved in the local community, (Service Learning) while appreciating and embracing the global community with a commitment to making a difference. 

4. The Learning Environment

The school provides a learning environment that challenges students to understand themselves, while appreciating values, cultures, views and personalities different from their own. 

5. Life Skills & Service Learning

Our students focus on what the future can become by having a firm understanding of the world today, and an appreciation of the events that have shaped it. They approach challenges in an entrepreneurial way that brings together relationship skills with practical solutions in their private lives as well as in business and the greater community. They understand civic responsibility and that meaningful community service enriches their learning experience as well as strengthening the whole community.

The Perth Montessori School Secondary Program promotes individuals who are:

  • Self-directed and self-reliant;
  • Flexible, open and alert to change;
  • Creative and entrepreneurial;
  • Have a global and holistic approach;
  • Have a life-long love of learning, enabling them to meet life’s challenges positively.

The secondary levels of the Perth Montessori School are called Cycle 4 and Cycle 5, approximately equating to Years 6-9 and Years 10-12 respectively. The concept of cycles continues the practice of the primary levels of the school, in which students are grouped in multi-age classes of three years. These groupings are not arbitrary, but are based on Dr Montessori’s scientific observations that there are natural planes of development in human beings. Thus, to group 12- 15 year olds and 15-18 year olds together, is a natural response to the learning needs of our students. 

In recognition of the needs of adolescents, and the multi-dimensional approach to learning, the program is designed to be flexible, maximise access to resources and to optimise student learning opportunities via an integrated thematic approach.

The school has planned for a staff: student ratio of one Director to twenty (1:20) students in the long term. 

Perth Montessori School offers a smooth, qualitatively differentiated progression from Pre-School through to the Senior Secondary level. 

Programs Emphasize:

  • Intellectual rigour and high academic standards
  • Critical thinking 
  • Inter-relatedness of disciplines
  • A variety of points of view
  • Inter-cultural awareness
  • Communication in one’s own language and another 
  • Awareness of the media 
  • Competence in Information Technology
  • Intellectual and social development
  • Service Learning