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High school students from across the nation attend the Western Civilisation Summer School

More than 60 high school students from across Australia attended a residential Summer School hosted by ACU’s Western Civilisation Program last month.

The program gave students the chance to experience the unique type of university study offered by ACU’s Bachelor of Arts (Western Civilisation), which offers small-class groups and academic mentoring.

The three-day Summer School was held at the North Sydney Campus and the Benedict XVI Retreat Centre in Grose Vale.

It featured a keynote lecture by Ramsay Centre CEO Professor Simon Haines and a series of lively seminars on two of the most influential texts in the Western canon: Plato’s Phaedrus and Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream.

ACU’s Bachelor of Arts (Western Civilisation) is designed to expose students to the most vital works of art, culture, and thought in the Western tradition with an approach that values rigour and creativity, diversity and dissent, deep learning, and critical questioning.

The Summer School participants experienced this first-hand as they explored Plato and Shakespeare with world-class scholars and peers from around the country.

This unique opportunity had a profound effect on the students:

“Honestly it was amazing. I learnt a lot about myself as well as literature, the ideas discussed applied to more than just academia…. A genuinely life-changing experience.”

“I loved discussing the texts – especially with people who don’t necessarily have the same views as myself.”

“I’m leaving with more questions than answers and that’s the beauty of this course.”

Thanks to a philanthropic agreement between the Ramsay Centre for Western Civilisation and ACU signed in 2020, thirty ACU Ramsay Scholarships are available each year to support high-achieving students entering one of three degree programs: the Bachelor of Arts (Western Civilisation), the Bachelor of Arts (Western Civilisation) / Laws, and the Bachelor of Arts (Western Civilisation), Master of Teaching (Secondary).

Learn more about ACU’s Western Civilisation Program here