What we offer

With more than 2,500 students and 240 teaching staff across 3 campuses, we have a wonderful and vibrant community from across Newcastle and the world! We celebrate our rich and diverse culture, with families from our First Nations through to families that are new to Australia, along with a significant number of our families who have been attending our campuses for several generations.   

Callaghan’s multi-campus design allows our College to provide dedicated learning environments for middle and senior school years. This provides a safe and secure learning environment where all students have an equal opportunity to reach their full potential.

Middle school (Wallsend and Waratah campuses) provides a stepping stone between primary and senior schooling, to make the transition into secondary education smoother for students and their families.

Aside from accessing an extensive range of subjects catering for all abilities and interests from Year 7 until Year 10, our middle campuses also provide greater opportunities for students in years 7 - 10 to participate in a large variety of extra activities across academic, sporting, creative arts and performance, as well as an opportunity to be involved in a range of cultural experiences with their peers.

Senior school (Jesmond Senior Campus) at Callaghan gives students more choice than any other school in the Newcastle region, with over 65 courses on offer. Our individual student career and study pathways allow students to choose from academic courses through to vocational education choices including school based apprenticeships and training. Callaghan has also designed a range of unique courses which create direct pathways to further study or vocational opportunities.

The sheer size of three campuses combined means that at each stage, our students have a greater choice of electives and extra-curricular experiences delivered by a large team of qualified specialist teachers and support staff. 

Every student at Callaghan College has a personalised learning pathway. This includes choice of subjects, development of future learning capabilities and a seamless integration of technology to support learning.

Callaghan is consistently recognised for its capacity to develop real-world future learning capabilities through its course delivery. As a College, the staff ensure that communication, critical thinking, creativity and collaboration are embedded in daily practice.

College staff are consistently designing new learning opportunities for students to connect with each other, their local community and with global partners. For example, students are provided opportunities to design learning products which build these capacities and then showcase their achievements to community members.  

Opportunities also exist for students to engage in a broad range of learning activities which build their innovation and entrepreneurial skills. 

For example, the Edupreneur program supports middle years students to operate the Callaghan On Wheels Food Truck. Similarly, our Senior students are integral to the annual Surfest event. As part of work placement, they gain exceptional experiences in a number of areas including media, hospitality, event management, sport coaching and business.

Callaghan leads the way in integration of future technologies to support deep learning. We boast virtual reality environments on each campus, as well as other leading-edge technology including drones, 3D printers, and state of the art staging equipment, ensuring that our students have access and know how to use technology that is shaping our future world.

We are dedicated to the use and integration of technology in the teaching and learning process as part of our future learning culture every day.

Each student is provided with a personalised learning platform. This enables students and their parents to access the learning resources anywhere, anytime. Each student has access to classroom computers, Smartboards and also have the option to bring their own device to school (BYOD).  

Callaghan values its place among a broader community. Our many community partners are active participants in supporting the learning journey for every student. 

These partnerships range from our Callaghan Education Pathways collective of the 3 campuses and our 15 partner primary schools, to our dynamic academic partnership with the University of Newcastle and TAFE NSW, as well as the abundance of industry partners that continue to support our students each year.

Our support team is inclusive of all our staff, from the executive director throughout every staff member. We are here to support, nurture and encourage our students to be their best, and to provide any additional assistance when they may need it.

Each Campus also offers the resources you would expect at most high schools in Australia...