Hillcrest on Campus to the VLC

Hillcrest Virtual Learning Community

When the classroom day isn't the right fit, bring school home.

If your child is at a Hillcrest now and the classroom setting isn't working, Virtual Learning keeps them at Hillcrest and keeps their QCE pathway intact while they learn live online from home. The same school, in a setting that suits them.


Start With a Confidential Conversation




 A Change of Setting

You are not imagining it, and you are not failing

Families move from a campus to the Virtual Learning Community for all kinds of reasons: a reset, a child's wellbeing, changed circumstances at home, or simply a day that needs to flex. The common thread is that the building, not the learning, might be the thing that needs to change. 

Moving to the VLC lets that happen without starting over somewhere new. Your child stays a Hillcrest student, with many teachers still being the same or continuing with the same values and program they have on campus. The environment just changes, and your child learns live online from home in a setting that suits them. The school stays the same. The setting is what changes.


WHAT STAYS THE SAME?

Still Hillcrest, and still on track

The VLC is Hillcrest Christian College's own accredited Queensland program, so moving into it is not changing schools. Your child stays a Hillcrest student, taught by qualified teachers, with the full curriculum and the reporting a campus student has. What changes is where the school day happens.

The learning itself is genuine and structured. Your child has core teachers in the junior and middle years and specialist subject teachers in the senior years, all teaching live, so this is a real education rather than a pause from one. And they are not doing it without support: VLC students have access to Hillcrest Christian College's own counsellors and chaplains, the same support resources available to students on campus.

Full QCE and ATAR pathways run through to Year 12, with optional VET, so a move in the middle or senior years does not put the credential at risk. The Pathways team keeps mapping the road ahead, the same as it would on campus.

PREP TO YEAR 12

The same school, wherever the fit takes you

From the Middle VLC (Years 5-8) and Senior VLC (Years 9-12), every child belongs to a Life Group, a small pastoral class that meets regularly to connect and build friendships. 

Because it is small and steady, and there is no inherited playground hierarchy to step into, it is a place to belong without the social pressures. The Life Group teacher gets to know your child, knows what is going on for them, and works alongside the teaching team so your child is genuinely known, not just enrolled.

Nothing has to happen all at once. Each child has their own Individual Learning Profile, so the load can start lighter and build as your child is ready, and the teaching team works at their pace rather than a whole room's. For a family who has spent a long time in survival mode, this is often the first exhale, the sense that school can move at the speed of your actual child.

COMMUNITY NOT ISOLATION

The community, and the campus, stay open

Moving home does not mean moving away from people. Live lessons put your child in a room with the same faces each day, and a weekly Life Group gives them a small, steady community for connection and pastoral support, led by a teacher who knows them.

The Gold Coast campus stays open to VLC families too. Optional social days, enrichment days and co-curricular are there for your child to meet, in person, the friends they have made online, and to come back to campus life at their own pace when they are ready. None of it is required. All of it is there.

For a child who needed the setting to change, that mix of a calmer day and a community that holds is often what lets them settle and find their feet again.


Our Virtual Learning Communities

The VLC operates under three distinct learning areas


Prep to Year 12

One school, and what actually happens inside it

Because the enrolment holds, your child moves through the whole of school in one place, and each stage hands on to the next. Here is what the learning actually looks like, in plain terms.

Junior VLC · Prep – Year 4


Junior Learning Community →

Middle VLC · Year 5 – 8


Middle Learning Community →

Senior VLC · Year 9 – 12


Senior Learning Community →


EDUCATED - EQUIPPED - EMPOWERED - ENERGISED


Card 01

Sports & PA


Card 02

Gifted


Card 03

Homeschool


Card 04

Regional


Card 05

Christian

Card 06

Defence







How to enrol in the Virtual Learning Community?

A gentle first step, starts with a confidential conversation

A confidential conversation

Tell us a little about your child and what has been hard. A fifteen-minute conversation is all it takes to see whether the VLC could help. If it is not the right fit, we will say so.

Internal coordination

We will discuss the potential transition plan for moving from on-campus leadership to the VLC. This helps us understand your motivations for moving and ensures we plan well for any transitions. 

Start at your child's pace

When you are ready, we build an Individual Learning Profile and coordinate the move over to the VLC. 

Frequently Asked Questions

Please find additional information and frequently asked questions.


Yes, Hillcrest Christian College is an evolution of more traditional Distance education. 

Distance education programs have traditionally catered to students with limited access to mainstream schooling, such as students living in regional or remote locations. Our VLC has adapted the benefits of distance education to offer all families a world-class, independent school education that can be completed at home.

Unlike homeschooling, where parents need to source, plan and assess student lessons, your family will have access to dedicated and trained staff to engage them in daily online classes, working through an innovative and future-focused curriculum.    

The VLC mirrors our on-campus communities with stages of age-appropriate learning.

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.

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.

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.

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.

Ipswich Girls' Grammar School Logo

Hillcrest Christian College - Virtual Learning Community

Ph: +61 07 5593 4226

21 Bridgman Drive, Reedy Creek, QLD 4227 Australia

Facebook Follow Us

Instagram Subscribe

YouTube Channel

LinkedIn Subscribe


Learning Communities

VLC - Junior Learning

VLC - Middle Learning

VLC - Senior Learning

Flexible Learning

Sports & Performing Arts

Homeschool or Hybrid

Gifted & Support

Regional Families

Christian Virtual Learning

Wellbeing Focused

Enrolments

VLC Enquiries 

HCC to VLC



Quick Links

Term Dates

Careers

Policies

Contact

Connex

© 2026 Hillcrest Christian College. All Rights Reserved.

ACN 010 381 334 ABN 68 947 459 366 CRICOS No. 01043C