Published on: 15 May 2025

  • Health and Wellbeing Program
  • IPSHA Speakers’ Challenge
  • ICAS Testing

As part of the Health and Wellbeing Program, all students from Years 1 to 6 participate in a Protective Behaviours Program during Term 1. This program focuses on teaching the boys how to make positive decisions in unsafe situations and who they can speak to if they feel uncomfortable. The key theme is that everyone has a right to feel safe. Students identify trusted adults, recognise early warning signs of unsafe situations and develop the life skills of problem solving, persistence and help seeking. During Term 2, the students will continue to build their social and emotional skills during health and wellbeing lessons that occur once a fortnight in the Preparatory School.

Each year, students from Years 3 to 6 are required to write, rehearse and deliver a speech to their peers on a topic of their choice for the IPSHA Speakers’ Challenge. The boys’ speeches should entertain, persuade or inform their audience and incorporate effective projection of voice, gestures, eye contact and pace. The benefits of public speaking are multi-faceted and include listening skills, development of vocabulary and pronunciation as well as planning and organising thoughts. All students will present their speeches to their peers, with the two best speeches from each class in Years 4 to 6 presenting their speeches to their cohorts in the Chapel. The best speakers will then progress to represent Christ Church at the IPSHA Junior and Senior Speakers’ Challenge held later in the year. In the past, Christ Church has performed exceptionally well with a number of boys winning medals at these events.

ICAS Testing will be taking place during Term 3, commencing in Week 3, and is designed to target students’ higher-order thinking and problem-solving skills in English, Writing, Mathematics, Science, Spelling and Digital Technologies. The assessments are suitable for boys wishing to extend themselves academically and take up the personal challenge of competing in an international assessment. All ICAS assessments will be online and are available for boys from Years 2 to 6. For information regarding registration, sitting dates and the purchasing of practice papers, please click here.

Congratulations to our BGM award winners.

Dr. Steven Males
Head of Preparatory School