Enrolment and FAQs

We are a small school with limited places. Please email if you would like to enquire about vacancies.

Is this a school for all students?

Absolutely! The individualised nature of the program at Humanitas enables students to work with their interests and needs, making progress from wherever they are at. This way of working can be extremely beneficial for students with varying abilities, particularly those who might seek more challenge, depth and rigour as well as those who need more time to consolidate concepts. We believe all students learn best when they are engaged and motivated in topics they are interested in, and supported to make choices in the ways they learn new skills and new knowledge.

In our experience as democratic educators, this kind of environment does require a degree of self-direction, which is enhanced with practise (ie our learners get better at directing their own learning by engaging in that - daily, weekly and for life!). It can also be a busy and energetic learning environment - while there are spaces for quiet, relaxation and calm thinking, the more flexible structure does tend to create an environment that could be challenging for students who require a strict structured order to their day.

Humanitas, in our opinion, is for everyone, but does best suit students who like to engage in learning opportunities, want to be treated with respect and wish to do more with their time at school.

What is the enrolment policy?

We are a deliberately small school, with multi-age classes to create a sense of community - where students know each other and are known. In 2024, we will have Years 7 to 10, with a capacity of 20 to 24 students per year level. At full capacity (Years 7 to 12), in 2026, we will be a school of up to 140 students.

As a small school, if enrolments are beyond our capacity our priorities are:

Students with a demonstrated interest in self-directed learning
Families with a commitment to democratic education
Children of staff
Younger siblings of current students

All students applying for a place at Humanitas are asked to submit a one minute video on why they want to attend the school. This helps the staff to support their needs.

When is the next Open Day?

Our next Open Day will be on Saturday May 17th, 2025. To manage numbers, we will be providing free tickets in sessions to this event. Please join our mailing list to stay informed about the release of tickets.

Are you a religious school?

No. We welcome students and staff of all religious persuasions and none. Our school promotes common human values such as kindness, respect, inquisitiveness and diversity. While individual students may learn about all religions and cultures of the world, and many different cultural holidays and festivals are celebrated, the school is not affiliated with any religion.

What are the fees like?

We wish to enable maximum access to our wonderful school. We use a sliding scale fee system, where individual families will nominate a financial payment suited to their circumstance to assist with paying our staff and resourcing our school. Financial arrangements with the school will be confidential for each family. Fundraising for individual student projects as well as ongoing costs will be a creative and necessary part of our school, but we are committed to keeping the cost accessible for all families as a founding principle. For more information on working out how much you would pay, see our sliding scale fee document on the Documents page.

Is there a uniform?

At Humanitas, we believe that students as individuals should be free to choose their own clothing, and to feel safe and comfortable in their clothing. This was agreed on by parents, teachers and students of our school. As such, there is no formal uniform at Humanitas, but students are expected to follow workplace health and safety practices for curriculum experiences (e.g. suitable enclosed shoes when using tools, hats when outside in the sun).

What's the teacher to student ratio like?

Our policy is to have a teacher to student ratio under 1:15, however it is currently much lower than that. In addition, we aim to have an array of teachers with skills in diverse areas, to maximise the learning potential in our community. We employ many part-time teachers to increase this skill base. Teachers are the most important resource for our community!

How are students supported at Humanitas?

As well as support from our quality teaching team, experienced guidance counsellor and outside experts employed by the school, students at Humanitas each have a Learning Coach (LC), a person they meet with weekly one-on-one. The LC supports them to set goals, plan their projects and map their curriculum to make sure they are covering all the areas and standards. The LC also provides well-being support, with a weekly 'circle of life' check-in to look at all areas holistically. LCs are key people in your time at Humanitas - they can be a sounding board for ideas, and arrange mentors for your area of interest or project. Three times a year (Terms 2, 3, and 4), the Learning Coach meets with the whole family (parents and student) to set goals and chat about progress. In between, the LC is available to families via email. Learning Coaches are all trained teachers who understand the curriculum and student learning, and work to develop a connection with your child to support their engagement in projects, core curriculum offering and social well-being.

This sounds amazing! I’d like to enrol my child.

If you would like to stay in touch with the school and find out more information, please fill out the enquiry form in the contact section of this website with your name, your child’s name and proposed year of entry (e.g. Year 7 in 2026). If you have students who are interested in enrolling for Year 11 in 2025, please contact us directly using our contact form.

The process for enrolment is as follows;

Get in touch via our enquiry form or email to let us know who you are.
Attend an information session or open day to find out more about the school.
Complete an enrolment application including; enrolment form, offer for fees, enrolment video, payment of non-refundable enrolment fee ($80). PLEASE NOTE: Payment of this fee in no way guarantees you a place. It allow us to offset the cost of processing your forms and videos, which are seen by a collaborative enrolment panel.
Humanitas High School will contact you to discuss your application, a trial place may be offered immediately in some circumstances.
Offers for placement in the subsequent two years will be initially sent in May and finalised in October.
Complete additional paperwork including: Application for membership of Humanitas High School Ltd. (Every family has voting rights at our general meetings), general excursion permission forms, Online Learning Policy Agreement, and any other details relating to your enrolment.
Start school!
Complete 4 week trial and finalise placement. This formality allows families a chance to experience Humanitas High School, and see what it's like, as well as a chance for families and staff to sit down together at the end of four weeks and discuss what they have experienced. While the majority of families choose to continue after this time, Humanitas does reserve the right to not continue enrolment where student details and family commitments are not concurrent with what was presented during the initial enrolment process.

If you wish to download and complete an enrolment form prior to attending an information session please download one from our documents page.

If you are interested in a place in 2025, please contact us via email. We are also recording expressions of interest for future years (we have many expressions for up to 2032, so it might be a good idea to express your interest now!)

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