Here is some information about our educational and community partners.
Auburn Diversity Services
Auburn Diversity Services Inc. (ADSi) is a community based, non-profit organisation established to promote the principles of multiculturalism, access, equity and social justice.
It is committed for developing strategies which address the needs of all Australians, especially special needs groups such as refugees, women, youth, children, families, the elderly, the unemployed, the homeless and people with a disability.
ADSi designs and delivers services that aim to build capacity and improve outcomes for disadvantaged people and families.
For more information, please visit the ADSi website.
Secondary College of Languages as of June 2021 (former Saturday School of Community Languages)
Whilst Bankstown Intensive English Centre's focus and aim is to assist, consolidate and extend new migrants' and refugee students' English language skills, students have the opportunity to maintain their own or home language by studying it parallel to their studies through the NSW Department of Education's Secondary College of Languages (SCL).
Students can be enrolled when they have reached a sufficient level of English to be able to be successful in the course and they can continue studying it, when they transfer to their high school up to Year 12 for the HSC (Higher School Certificate) exam.
The Secondary College of Languages gives students the opportunity to study the language they speak at home, if a course in that language is not offered at their own high school or college.
The College is a government, secondary school which operates on Saturdays at 14 different high school locations across Sydney, 1 in Wollongong and 1 in Newcastle.
Classes for Years 7, 8, 9 and 10 (junior years) are usually from 8:30am to 10:30am and for Years 11 and 12 (senior years) from 8:30am to 11:45am.
Around Bankstown Intensive English Centre, the following SCL campuses operate:
- Ashfield Boys' Campus
- Bankstown Girls' Campus
- Birrong Boys' Campus
- Birrong Girls' Campus
- Liverpool Boys' Campus
- Liverpool Girls' Campus
Students can study at one centre depending where the language is offered.
Approximately 4,000 students in Years 7 to 12, from both government and non-government schools and TAFE (technical and further education) colleges, are enrolled at the SCL.
The SCL students follow NESA syllabuses in 24 languages. These languages are assessable as part of their Stage 5 and HSC (Higher School Certificate) studies, that is Stage 6.
Languages
The languages students can study are:
- Arabic, Armenian, Bengali (Bangla), Chinese, Croatian, Dutch, Filipino, Hindi, Hungarian, Italian, Japanese, Khmer, Korean, Macedonian, Modern Greek, Maltese, Persian (Farsi and Dari), Polish, Portuguese, Serbian, Spanish, Turkish, Ukrainian, Vietnamese.
What are the benefits?
Studying the language students speak at home:
- helps students maintain rewarding relationships with their parents/caregivers, grandparents, relatives and other community members
- promotes in students a sense of cultural identity, resulting in heightened self-confidence and self-esteem
- provides an opportunity for students to develop high levels of skill in the language they speak at home
- improves students' performance across the curriculum
- places students in a better position to take advantage of employment opportunities.
How do students enrol?
Enrolment forms are available from the Head Teacher of Bankstown Intensive English Centre for the students. Families will need to sign the documents as well, if students are under 18 years old, and then students will be notified when they will be able to commence their home language studies at the SCL.
For more information, visit the SCL at Saturday School of Community Languages program website.
Phone: (02) 7814 2115