Services

Services

RIDBC Thomas Pattison School (a school for Bilingual Deaf Children)

The RIDBC Thomas Pattison School (a school for Bilingual Deaf Children) is located at North Rocks and provides a bilingual educational program for deaf students who use Auslan (Australian Sign Language) and English in its spoken and written form.

The school offers classes from kindergarten – Year 10 and follows the NSW Board of Studies syllabus. Integration programs with local schools are provided for all students. RIDBC provides a School Support Service for students who receive academic scholarships from The Hills Grammar School, Kenthurst. for their Higher School Certificate studies.

The school combines modern facilities, advanced instruction techniques and a nurturing environment. It aims to equip students with the knowledge, skills and abilities to pursue their ambitions, including tertiary study. The school accepts deaf students who are Auslan users from anywhere in Australia. A Host Family program is available for students from outside the Sydney metropolitan area.

For enquiries, contact us online or phone (02) 9872 0367.

Program

The RIDBC Thomas Pattison School (a school for Bilingual Deaf Children) program takes into account the differing needs of students.

The academic program contains a broad range of challenging subjects. Language and communication are an important part of the program, and an emphasis is placed on literacy.

All students participate in inclusion programs with mainstream schools. For part of the school week Primary School students attend North Rocks Public School while High School students attend The Hills Grammar School, Kenthurst for Sport and various additional curriculum subjects. Students also participate in their partner school’s annual Swimming, Athletics and Cross Country events.

Year 10 Thomas Pattison School students may apply to The Hills Grammar School for an academic scholarship for their Year 11 and 12 Higher School Certificate studies. For successful applicants, RIDBC provides a School Support Service.

Features

The school's facilities include:

  • A networked computer system
  • Science labs
  • Library and video conferencing resource centre
  • Video editing suite and multi-media technology
  • Design and technology centre
  • Textiles and home science facilities.

Real-time captioning is used in classrooms to help students develop English literacy. Students also have access to RIDBC's Assessment and Therapy services, and the RIDBC Jim Patrick Audiology Centre.

RIDBC Host Family Service

RIDBC Host Family Service provides accommodation for Deaf students who normally reside outside the Sydney metropolitan area to enable them to attend RIDBC Thomas Pattison School (a school for Bilingual Deaf Children) at North Rocks.

Click here to read more about the RIDBC Host Family Service

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