EDUCATED - EQUIPPED - EMPOWERED - ENERGISED
Your child finishes the work before everyone else. They have done that since Year 3. The teacher gives them "extension activities" which are usually more of the same work, slightly harder. Your child stopped being excited about school somewhere around Year 5. By Year 7, "school is boring" has become a daily statement. By Year 8 or 9, boredom has started looking like disengagement.
You have raised this with the school. They said they differentiate. They said they would provide extension. You waited a term. Nothing changed in a way your child noticed.
This is the pattern. It has a structural cause: most schools are designed to teach to the middle. A gifted child sitting in that environment is not being challenged. They are being contained.
A gifted child who spends years working below their capacity does not just lose time. They lose the habit of being challenged. They learn that effort is unnecessary, that school requires compliance but not thought. By the time that belief is established, it takes years to reverse. The cost is motivational, not academic. And it compounds.
Extension, as most schools deliver it, means harder worksheets. More problems. A project with a longer deadline. The content stays at the same year level.
VLC is the Virtual Learning Community operated by Hillcrest Christian College, an accredited Queensland school with more than 40 years of operation. Gifted education, as VLC delivers it, means year-level advancement under specialist teachers. If your child is in Year 8 and ready for Year 12 content in a particular subject, they study Year 12 content with a qualified specialist teacher who knows the syllabus, the assessment criteria, and the exam.
Life Groups is VLC's pastoral care programme. Small groups of students come together regularly for social activities, discussion, and connection, led by a Life Group teacher who provides emotional support and community facilitation. Your child's cohort includes athletes who chose VLC for the same reasons. Gold Coast Campus access provides co-curricular activities, band, and enrichment.
Allegra Clarke is a VLC student who arrived from a high-fee Gold Coast independent school. Her parents made a deliberate quality choice. She is in Year 8, studying higher-level QCAA topics under qualified teacher guidance. She still attends band and enrichment at the Hillcrest Gold Coast Campus.
VLC is the Virtual Learning Community operated by Hillcrest Christian College, an accredited Queensland school with more than 40 years of educational outcomes.
Qualified teachers deliver every live lesson, with specialist teachers in key subject areas who can take your child as far as they are ready to go. The Lumos Gifted Programme provides structured year-level advancement. The SECRET Skills framework, developed by Cambridge University researcher Dan Buckley, ensures academic acceleration is paired with the development of the whole learner: self-management, creative thinking, reflective learning, enquiry, effective participation, and teamwork.
Life Groups brings students together regularly for social activities, discussion, and connection, facilitated by a Life Group teacher. Gold Coast Campus access provides band, enrichment, and co-curricular activities.
Full ATAR and VET pathways to Year 12. Year-level advancement is structured to build ATAR runway, not consume it.
DISCOVER MORE ABOUT DISTANCE EDUCATION
Read the answers to some of our most popular questions.
Yes. Students can work above their enrolled year level under qualified specialist teachers in either ful year level sor selected specialist classes algined to their gifting.
Junior VLC (Prep – Year 4): Focuses on foundational literacy and numeracy through our I Love Reading program, integrated projects, and core Australian Curriculum subjects. Students also participate in Life Groups, Christian Living, online Gathering (Chapel), and Assemblies.
Middle VLC (Years 5 – 8): Supports students through Design-Centred Learning (DCL) projects, SECRET Skills development, and micro-credentialing, integrating core subjects and elective learning. Yearly camps foster personal growth.
Senior VLC (Years 9 – 12): Prepares students for post-school pathways with QCE, ATAR and non-ATAR options, plus access to VET courses. Core subjects and electives align with career and tertiary goals, complemented by leadership development, camps, and faith-based engagement.
Students in Years 11-12 choose five subjects from the following: English OR Essential English (compulsory); General Mathematics, Essential Mathematics OR Mathematical Methods (compulsory); Modern History; Legal Studies; Biology; Psychology; and Business. VET and other courses are also available in ATAR and non-ATAR pathways. As the VLC continues to grow, further options will become available. Please contact our enrolments team if you have any questions.
Students in the VLC also build a portfolio of SECRET Skills (Self-Manager, Effective Participator, Creative Thinker, Reflective Learner, Enquirer, Team Worker) as a key component of Hillcrest’s mission to develop the whole child. As a Christian College, units are taught from a biblical world view.
Students participate in live, daily online sessions with their teacher between 1-2 hours in total, depending on the year level. If they can’t attend the online sessions, students will be expected to watch these back in their own time throughout the week.
They will also have individual learning activities to complete each week in their own time. Students and families can structure the learning week to suit their circumstances. In general, students can expect their weekly workload to be a lot faster compared to a mainstream schooling setting.
Regular assessment will take place through the Virtual Learning platform to assess how students are progressing and inform the teacher of how to best support your child.
However, in the Junior and Middle years, these rarely take the form of long assignments or exams. We design learning around real-world, meaningful tasks that allow students to demonstrate their knowledge, skills and understanding in a purposeful and real-life context.
Students receive a formal school report twice a year, at the end of each semester. These will be uploaded to the Parent Lounge, and parents may print their copy at home if required. Ongoing feedback on assessment and progress is given to students throughout each term via Progressive Reporting feedback.
NAPLAN testing is compulsory for all Year 3, 5, 7 and 9 students across Australia, whether in a mainstream or Distance Education setting. However, parents may withdraw their child because of philosophical or religious reasons.
NAPLAN testing takes place in Term 1 each year. More information will be sent to parents about the testing (and process for withdrawals, if applicable) at the beginning of each school year. If you cannot arrange for your child to attend the Hillcrest Christian College Home Campus (Reedy Creek), arrangements can be made with your local school to complete the testing.
At Hillcrest, we recognise that each student is unique and has different needs. An Individual Learning Plan (ILP) is a document that allows the teacher, student and parents to work together to look at a student’s strengths, aspirations, challenges and competencies to tailor an appropriate educational program.
This may include having extra time to consolidate core concepts, working at an alternate year level in a particular subject area or concept, working on accelerated content, or, in the case of students with diagnosed needs, having adjustments in place to assist in the completion of class-work and assessments. ILPs are reviewed by all parties every six months.
Unlike traditional Distance Education programs, the VLC aims to develop the whole child, meaning there is a focus on not only intellectual achievement but also development in the emotional, wellbeing, global and spiritual domains. Each child participates in Life Group lessons with their core class throughout the week, which are dedicated opportunities to build relationships and ‘do life’ with others.
The VLC offers frequent opportunities for students who live near our Hillcrest Christian College Home Campus (Reedy Creek) to attend on-campus events. This includes social catch-ups and enrichment days, where they can use College facilities to further explore the learning they are doing in the Virtual Learning platform.
These days are optional but provide an excellent opportunity for students and parents to meet and develop friendships they have made in the virtual space.
VLC students who live near our Hillcrest Christian College home campus (Reedy Creek) are most welcome to join our on-campus, co-curricular and extra-curricular activities. They currently include opportunities such as the Duke of Edinburgh Award Scheme, outreach activities, Choral Program, Instrumental Program, Dance Program (CAPA), local sporting clubs (including AFL, Basketball, Futsal and Netball) and after-school clubs. Please note, some of these activities may incur an extra cost.
The VLC Term Dates mirror the Hillcrest Christian College Home Campus Term Dates. Queensland gazetted Public Holidays (including the Gold Coast Show Holiday) are observed, and online classes will not operate on these days.
If your family plans an extended trip away during the term, please advise your child’s teacher and the Head of Virtual Learning Community. In some cases, arrangements can be made for students to complete their learning while they are away or at an alternate time, depending on your circumstances.
Yes. All teachers are qualified and registered teachers, trained specifically in Virtual Education practices. All of our teachers are excited to get to know and work alongside your family.
Yes. It is important for children to have a parent (or other responsible adult, such as a grandparent, uncle, tutor or nanny) at home to help them access their learning, provide active supervision and assist where needed.
Teachers are available during school hours to assist your child online, but parents are important partners to ensure the safety and wellbeing of each child. Some students may need extra assistance with their learning, which will require parents to be more hands-on during the learning sessions. Generally, as students grow older, less assistance is needed. You will be best placed to ascertain how much parental assistance your child needs. If you have any concerns, please speak to their teacher.
Yes. Hillcrest Christian College is well-known for its exceptional gifted and talented programs. All students have their own Individual Learning Plan, allowing teachers to tailor a program for children’s specific areas of giftedness.
Gifted students can also apply for our Lumos Gifted & Talented Program.
We aspire to develop students with good character, strong skills, with a heart to serve others,
underpinned by an education that prioritises wellbeing.
We ensure every student feels safe, known, and cared for. Hillcrest's Education Model prioritises wellbeing as the core foundation for students to reach their academic potential.
Hillcrest students are widely respected for their good character. We help students develop into respectable young people, ready to face the challenges of the wider world.
Students develop key skills required to flourish personally and in society: emotional skills, intellectual skills, and global skills, such as collaboration and critical thinking.
Students are taught christ-centred values and teachings. We want every student to be equipped to step out and use their God-given skills to
better society.
