Students hooked on marine course
With the sea just metres away, it's not surprising that Ocean Reef Senior High School's marine specialist course is among its most popular.
Each year, teachers have to whittle down up to 70 applicants to just 20 students who learn scuba diving, fishing techniques and even seafood cookery skills as part of the course.
Under the guidance of Rachel Cook and Zoe Sneddon, those who make the cut look forward to regular trips to the beach, excursions to the Busselton Jetty and Exmouth, and even leave school with a recreational skipper's ticket that forms a compulsory part of the studies. The school is one of many public schools that could earn $10,000 and other prizes as part of the Department of Education's Our School's a Star program.
Science head Robert Gaudet said the marine specialist course not only helped students enter university courses such as ecotourism and aquaculture, but also taught important skills beyond traditional classroom subjects.
"It's an extremely popular course," Mr Gaudet said.
"It's very practical, a lot of the students have boats and it's about life skills that the kids can take home. It's very hands-on."
The Our School's a Star competition encourages schools to show what makes them stand out.
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