Wellbeing Focused

Virtual Learning. An extension of Hillcrest Christian College.

A fresh start, and room to thrive.

Sometimes what a child needs is not to push harder, but a setting that suits them better. Virtual Learning is a real, accredited Queensland school your child learns in from home, with qualified teachers, a small and steady community, and the pace set to what they need right now. Families tell us the difference shows within the first term.


Start With a Confidential Conversation




You Know Your Child

You are not imagining it, and you are not failing

If mornings have become hard, you do not need anyone to explain to you what that looks like. You live it. And you have most likely tried everything the school suggested, a meeting with the teacher, time with the counsellor, a different lunch spot, a lighter timetable, and still the same pattern returns.

Here is what is worth holding onto. Sometimes the child is fine, and it is the setting that does not fit. When that is true, the most powerful thing you can do is find the environment where your child feels safe and known, because from there, everything else becomes possible again.


WHEN THE SETTING IS THE THING TO CHANGE

A real school, without the pressures that were not working

Live lessons, and recorded so training can lead

Your child learns from home, in live classes with qualified teachers, through Hillcrest Christian College's Virtual Learning Community, an accredited Queensland school with more than 40 years behind it. It is the full Australian Curriculum, taught properly, in a setting without the crowds, the noise and the social pressure that a busy campus can bring. For a child who has found those things hard, that one difference can change how the whole day feels.

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.

BELONGING, AND THE RIGHT PACE

A small community, and a pace set to your child

From the Middle VLC (Years 5-8) and Senior VLC (Yeras 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 pressure of a big campus. 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.

THRIVING, AND THE OUTCOMES PROTECTED

Children who find the right setting, thrive

The worry many families carry is that stepping away from a campus means stepping down academically. What VLC families in this situation describe is the opposite. When a child feels safe and known, the learning that had stalled starts moving again, and children who find the right setting go on to thrive. The teaching team assesses where your child is now and builds forward from there, so the plan meets your child where they genuinely are.

The outcomes are fully protected. QCE, ATAR and VET pathways are all available in the senior years, so a fresh start now does not close any door later. And when your child is ready, optional Gold Coast campus days and social days are there to add face-to-face connection at a pace that suits them, never before they want it.


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 & Talented


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Homeschool


Card 04

Regional


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Faith & Values

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.

Take a Virtual Parent Tour

See the live lessons and the small, steady community, and ask the questions that matter for your child.

Start at your child's pace

When you are ready, we build an Individual Learning Profile and, where it helps, a lighter starting load that grows as your child settles.

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.

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Hillcrest Christian College - Virtual Learning Community

Ph: +61 07 5593 4226

21 Bridgman Drive, Reedy Creek, QLD 4227 Australia

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