Northern territory to phase out middle schools into high schools

ABC NEWS (Australia)

The Northern Territory government is pushing ahead with plans to phase out middle schools converting all urban government schools into secondary schools by 2028. It's part of an overhaul of the NT's education system dismantling the previous Labor government’s creation of middle schools in 2006.

Transcript

00:00For Northern Territory students graduating from Year 6, it'll be goodbye to middle schools

00:08and straight into high school.

00:10It's going to be good because I get to stay with my friends in Year 12 instead of moving

00:16schools.

00:17I feel pretty good because I get to spread my social footprint because I get to talk

00:25to a lot more older students than I would if it was a middle school.

00:29Under the NT Government's plan, middle schools in Darwin and Palmerston will begin accepting

00:35students from Years 10, 11 and 12 starting from 2026.

00:40And in Alice Springs, Centralian Middle School will become a high school from 2027.

00:45The move is designed to keep kids in school for longer.

00:49Because there was that key transition point from Year 9 to Year 10 that we were starting

00:54to lose students.

00:55The pros and cons of middle school up for debate.

00:58It really depends on who you are.

01:00If you love school, then it's like, oh, get to do more school.

01:03But if you don't, then it's easier to just not pursue it anymore, yeah.

01:09The NT's education union says the outdated model is not fit for purpose and it supports

01:15a move away from middle schools.

01:17But a key question remains unanswered.

01:20How will teachers manage the increased workload associated with the transition when they're

01:25already feeling overworked and undervalued?

01:28We still have the same amount of students, so we still need the same amount of teachers.

01:32And in actual fact, on any given week, the department is recruiting for teachers right

01:38across the Territory.

01:39The Northern Territory is in fact the only jurisdiction that has standalone middle schools,

01:44so we are now in line with the rest of the nation.

01:46Change on the way for NT students, with many saying it's long overdue.

01:51That's right.

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