Future-focused SACE subjects at Thebarton Senior College
Students at Thebarton Senior College are preparing for their future careers with unique subjects in leadership, AI and content creation.
Thebarton Senior College is a government senior secondary school located in Adelaide’s inner west. The college offers 110 SACE Stage 1 and 2 subjects, in addition to Vocational Education and Training courses as a Registered Training Organisation, providing students with a wide variety of choice and preparing them for a range of careers and tertiary learning.
SACE subjects unique to the college include Student Leadership and Voice, Content Creation and AI. These subjects are just some examples of how the college builds subjects around students’ interests and career aspirations.
Teacher Matt Paxton supports this initiative, explaining “Thebarton Senior College has always been willing to go to where the students are”. He shares that these student-led subjects “cater to the interests of students and to the skills they will need in our ever-changing job landscape”.
Paxton teaches Content Creation, providing students with a broad understanding of media and marketing concepts to support the development of their own brands and social media content. Class teachers Paxton and Josh Wilsher bring a wealth of knowledge and experience to their roles – Paxton recently completed a Bachelor of Digital Media at UniSA, while Wilsher returns to teaching following a long career as a film and television camera operator.
Content Creation student Paige appreciates the flexibility that the subject provides, sharing “You can really focus on any area you are interested in and go as in-depth as you would like”. Paige would like to run her own business and feels the skills and knowledge she’s developed in the class – from colour theory to marketing psychology – are preparing her for this goal.
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Another popular subject, Student Leadership and Voice, empowers students to become leaders within their school community and beyond. The subject was established to meet the needs of students who wanted more time to grow their leadership skills.
Through the subject, students engage in leadership training and organise and deliver major school events, including Sports and Fun Day, and the Culture and Identity Festival. There is a real sense of community among the cohort, and student Shamsia describes it as “everyone’s favourite class”.
As part of the subject, students have attended three leadership conferences this year – Adelaide Secondary Youth Leadership Conference, National Student Leadership Summit and the National Leadership Forum in Canberra.
The trip to Canberra was made possible through the dedication and determination of students. When faced with financial barriers to attending, they wrote letters, grant applications and emails for support, raising an outstanding $25,000 to support the trip. This included generous donations from Premier of South Australia Peter Malinauskas, The Wyatt Trust, local charities, councils and individual donors.
Teacher Josh Basford described the trip as “truly life-changing for the students”. While in Canberra, students networked with Australian politicians and leaders, visited Parliament House and achieved enormous personal growth.
Student Mehdi describes each leadership conference as a “level up” from the last, allowing students to expand their leadership skills and views beyond what had previously felt like the top of their abilities. Shamsia and her classmates initially worried they weren’t ready to attend these conferences but realised “everything we learnt in the class made us ready” and that “everyone had something to give”.
Being a part of Student Leadership and Voice has changed Shamsia’s career plan – after attending leadership conferences and participating in the class, she has decided to pursue an impactful career in international relations. Mehdi is currently planning to study superintelligence while being a helpful member of the community.
“In Student Leadership and Voice, you learn not just about leadership but also about helping others, how to build a community and be a good part of a community,” she says. “All those skills will be handy in any situations or in any fields.”
In 2026, the college will add another innovative subject to its offerings – AI and Machine Learning. This advanced IT class will support students to design, train and test AI models, gaining the knowledge and skills to understand the inner workings of AI and apply this to real-world problems.
The subject will prepare students for further study and careers in areas such as computer science, digital technologies, data science, engineering and mathematics. It builds practical skills for any career that values critical thinking, innovation and digital fluency.
Paige says that what she values about Thebarton Senior College is that “all the subjects are really flexible, and they’re really connected to pathways related to that subject. So, I feel like I’m really working towards my future in every subject”.
Thebarton Senior College enrolment applications are now open. Apply now for 2026: tsc.sa.edu.au/Enrolment
