All students from ELC to Year 12 are encouraged to be active citizens who understand our past traditions, have a clear sense of social justice and our democratic processes and value ecological and economic sustainability. The Humanities Department provides a rich curriculum across the School to develop this knowledge and expertise and allows for the interplay of ideas and content between Business, Geography and History subjects.
The Humanities are explored in the Junior School through the International Baccalaureate Primary Years Programme.
Business subjects offered in the Middle and Senior schools include Accounting, Commerce, Business and Innovation, Economics and Legal Studies. Contemporary topics, of direct relevance to our students, form the bedrock for learning experiences. Students become adept at research and presentation skills, using the latest technologies. A multitude of business professionals support classroom learning and students regularly engage with visiting speakers, real life case studies and attend site visits. A range of Business subjects are offered to both SACE and IB students.
In Geography classes students gain a spatial, environmental and social view of contemporary society through topics such as urbanisation, population, processes at work on the landscape, wellbeing, globalisation and environmental quality. The use of GIS (Geographic Information Systems) is an integral part of geographic learning from Years 7 to 12 and exciting excursions, field work and practical activities allow students to collect and evaluate their own data. Our Geography students are encouraged to develop excellent problem-solving and report-writing skills. Geography subjects are offered to both SACE and IB students, including Tourism (SACE) and Environmental Systems and Societies (IB).
The study of History allows students to develop a global view of civilisations from ancient to modern times. History is taught to all students to Year 10 (including Australian, Modern and Ancient perspectives) and is offered as an elective to both SACE and IB students. Through History, our students develop an awareness and appreciation about how events and developments of past eras have affected the age in which we live. As our students move from Year 7 to Year 12, they begin to make more critical use of historical source material, weigh up the merits of conflicting historical interpretations and discuss historical issues and questions. The skills of research, analysis and description gained in History are of value to university studies in any field.
Our Year 12 students’ achievements in Humanities subjects are outstanding and we are proud of the numerous subject merits received by Pembroke students in both SACE and IB for each of several recent years.
Studying Humanities at Pembroke provides a wonderful opportunity to grasp a deeper understanding of the world around us. We learnt research skills and enjoyed a range of fantastic field trips. The teaching programs taught us to think more critically and allowed us to apply these skills to real world situations.
