Home Island Campus

Home Island has the largest permanent population of approximately 475 people, predominantly Cocos Malay in origin.  They have a long and varied history and speak Cocos Malay as their first language.  Home Island primary students (K-6) attend school at the Home Island Campus.

On Home Island, almost all students have been born and raised on the Cocos (Keeling) Islands and their parents speak Cocos Malay at home, in the community and at most workplaces. Many parents speak or understand English, however, most communication between the school and the community is translated, including the newsletters, assembly talks and teacher/parent interviews. 

Parents are encouraged to participate in school classes and events, and most students have at least one parent who visits each day to bring a traditional Malay-style food to school at recess (doing "yard duty" is never a chore for teachers!). A strong sense of community prevails on Home Island and children are celebrated and supported by all. School assemblies and concerts are commonly attended by anyone who can get there regardless of whether they have children at the school.   

The teaching of English to the Cocos-Malay students is the key priority across the school and staff encourage students to speak English as much as possible at school. This is at the request of parents through community consultation and follows sound ESL practice and strategy.  Home Island Campus operates a dedicated whole language programme in the mornings with the aim to further improve literacy outcomes for our primary E.S.L. students. It also runs a "Smart Start" 0-4 programme, a joint initiative between the school and Health services to help address literacy and nutritional issues.

All class groups are multi-age and have at least one full-time education assistant. Programs are enriched by specialist teacher assistance in the areas of Science, Design and Technology, Computer studies and Indonesian Language, and inclusion in various cross-cultural activities involving both campuses.

Student Numbers

Kindergarten: 1

Preprimary: 6

Year 1: 5

Year 2: 10

Year 3: 7

Year 4: 6

Year 5: 8

Year 6: 8