Flagship Programs

i3 Program – Interdisciplinary, intelligence and innovation

St Mary’s i3 Program is a compulsory, year-long program where Year 10 students work in teams alongside industry mentors to develop a functional app, website or other digital solution to solve one of the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals. Through a variety of inquiry and project-based activities, teams are required to produce a range of deliverables before participating in the program’s end-of-year Live Pitch Showcase, where they pitch their solution to a panel of judges in a ‘Shark Tank’ environment.

The program is significantly enhanced by the involvement of industry partners and mentors, who provide weekly online support to their teams and are directly involved in a major project day each term.

The i3 Program empowers girls to recognise, adapt to and manage change. It delivers an authentic and contemporary curriculum that develops students’ creativity, critical thinking and communication skills within and beyond the classroom, building key attributes needed for future occupations. 

Marine Science and Diving

St Mary’s Marine Science program is one of the best and longest running school-based programs of its kind in Australia.

Students can elect to study Marine Science in Years 9 and 10, and Marine and Maritime Studies in Years 11 and 12, which is an ATAR course. Each course aims to foster an interest in the marine environment, physics and biology, and an awareness of the environment via a marine setting. They also provide our students opportunities to conduct true scientific research projects. Students study oceanography, snorkel diving, maritime archaeology, marine biology of cetacea and the physical oceanography of the beach.

Students are also introduced to long-term research in Year 9, where they conduct investigations on yabbies. In Year 10, they conduct their own research projects on topics including marine biology, scientific diving, marine engineering and underwater robotics. 

It is important that our students can apply their knowledge in the real world; thus they participate in trips around Western Australia to locations including Albany, Exmouth and the Abrolhos Islands. Prior to COVID-19, students also participated in international research projects, such as Canada’s Mingan Island Cetacean Study.