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Many of the traditional barriers to seeking help are reduced in an online setting. The internet is a key source of advice and support for young people, who are more likely to first seek help on a site such as ReachOut.com rather than talk to a counsellor or GP. Find out more about how young people use the internet to investigate health concerns, issues such as sexuality and gender, and the kinds of supportive online communities they use.

This will help you to:

• understand how young people use online spaces for help seeking
• broaden understanding of online help sources
• guide young people in appropriate use of online help.

How do young people seek help online?

Anything a young person would be embarrassed or ashamed to ask their peers or parents about, they're likely to ask the Internet. The 2009 Nielson Report "How Teens Use Media"¹ concluded that for teens, social networks are a key source of information and advice, and 57% of teen social networkers said they looked to their online social network for advice. This is 63% higher than for the typical social networker.

Investigating health concerns

Even if a young person is seeking treatment from their GP or other medical professional, they will often check for side-effects of medications online, or get second opinions and treatment reviews from online forums and peers. One example is What Works 4 U, where young people review their mental health treatment plans and anonymously allow young people to read about the experiences of others before starting a new treatment option.

ReachOut.com is a youth mental health website where young people can access mental health information, positive stories and experiences of overcoming mental health difficulties, and a support community of other young people. Find out more about ReachOut.com here.

Investigating sexuality and identity

Often, sexuality is something that teens find it very difficult to talk about, especially if they think that their friends feel differently on the subject. Questions of sexual health, contraception, STIs and sexual attraction are often directed to online forums that would have been unasked or directed to teen magazine relationship columnists 10 years ago.

High schools can be extremely marginalising places with high risk of bullying, and so sex, gender and sexually diverse young people usually seek information online and view the stories of others before risking talking about their own sexuality with schoolmates. Especially for trans* people, the Internet can be their first contact with information about gender identity and transitioning.

Finding supportive communities

Many people from minority or marginalised groups do not have the opportunity to form real life communities. The Bridging the Digital Divide Report² highlighted the benefits of online behaviour specifically for marginalised youth.

Culturally and linguistically diverse people can maintain their culture and language online, even if their town or school doesn't have anyone else who understands their language or heritage or practices their culture. This is also especially true for recent migrants, eager to keep in touch with family and friends back home.

For people with disabilities, particularly those with speech impairments or who are deaf, online communication can be an extremely valuable tool.

Many people with mental health problems feel that people who don't have the same problem can't really understand, and are socially isolated in their schools and family, but find community online in a less threatening environment.

For same-sex attracted young people, the net is an important tool both in terms of providing support and information as well as the opportunity to meet new people. Reading coming out stories online is a common way for same-sex attracted youth to prepare for coming out themselves.

Of course, these are the more extreme examples. Finding supportive communities online is not just for the socially isolated and can just mean sharing your artwork or other creative endeavours in a space where people can give feedback.

ReachOut.com provides a mental health forum where young people can connect with other people and find strategies for overcoming mental health difficulties. Find out more about using the ReachOut Forums.

References

1. Available at: http://www.nielsen.com/us/en/insights/reports/2009/How-Teens-Use-Media.html

2. 'Bridging the Digital Divide Report', Inspire Foundation and ORYGEN Youth Health, University of Melbourne, 2007. Available at: http://www.vichealth.vic.gov.au/Publications/Social-connection/Bridging-the-Digital-Divide.aspx

What can I do now?

• Have a conversation about online safety.
• Learn about recommended resources in the Apps and online tools section.
• Assist young people to be aware of good online information.

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Free, early intervention and prevention sessions that allow primary schools in Australia to invite counsellors into their classroom via video conferencing technology or phone.

Each session is facilitated by a tertiary qualified Kids Helpline counsellor who works with the teacher/school counsellor to tailor each session to the needs of the school and particular class.

Kids Helpline @ School has two categories of curriculum-aligned topics, Digital and Wellbeing. The Optus Digital Thumbprint with Kids Helpline stream aims to promote digital respect, responsibility, resilience and empathy and online safety. The Wellbeing supported by Bupa stream covers topics such as developing resilience, bullying, peer and friendship related issues and transitioning to high school.

About Our Sessions

Free sessions are available to all primary schools Australia-wide.  Kids Helpline counsellors encourage safe, open and inclusive discussions about a range of topics relevant to students' lives.  Sessions are all evidence-informed, contain fun, interactive components and may also include scenarios or videos to engage students in problem solving.

Learning intentions:

• Improve students' mental health literacy and emotional intelligence
• Promote positive overall health and wellbeing
• Assist students to develop greater resilience and self-efficacy
• Normalise and encourage help-seeking behaviours
• Enhance students' communication skills within interpersonal relationships
• Encourage positive digital citizenship

Frequently Asked Questions

Benefits for schools:

• Access to externally run sessions designed to empower young people by recognising and developing their strengths/skills
• Build a safe relationship with counsellors to support student help-seeking
• Promote accessibility to Kids Helpline which is available to support students at any time (24/7) for any reason (via telephone/online services)
• Sessions can be tailored/personalised to better suit your school/class/students
• Topics are aligned with the Australian curriculum and relevant to the current school environment
• Access to free, professional and educational/informational resources

So you’re worried about a loved one? Knowing how to be a great support to that person can be difficult and take time to figure out. But sometimes just the simplest of acts or gestures can make a world of difference to someone who may be going through a tough time.

Here’s a list of things you could try to help put a pep back in their step:

• Make them a care package. A hand-picked box full of goodies is a great pick me up and way to encourage someone to do a little self-care, feel pampered or get creative. And it doesn’t have to cost you a fortune - here's some inspiration.
• Bring them a furry friend to play with. When someone’s had a ruff day or feeling a little lonely, having a pet around for comfort has pawsome benefits for your wellbeing. If you can’t bring the company to them, the dog park is the next best place to get a fur fix and added bonus of getting out in the fresh air.
• Watch their favourite movie beside them. Your couch or theirs. Sometimes just being there with someone and keeping them company during a difficult period can be more powerful than having a conversation. Plus no one likes to sit next to a talker during a movie.
• Take them out for a cuppa. A few words over a hot cup of however-you-like-it can make a big difference in helping someone feel less alone. Being in a neutral environment might also encourage them to open up and espresso what they’re going through. 
• Bring them food. Nothing says, “I’m here for you” like getting a smorgasbord of healthy and tasty treats or a home cooked meal. If they’re not up for a visit, get something delivered to their place – it will be a delicious surprise.
• Make them a playlist. Find or create a mix of soothing music and mood-boosters for them to tune into whenever they need a little help to relax and distract their thoughts.
• Help run errands. If someone’s feeling low, even the smallest of tasks can seem overwhelming. Ask what’s on their to do list and help cross things off like washing, vacuuming or watering the plants. Pop out and pick up some groceries – add in a few extra things they can heat up or chuck together when they’re not in the mood to cook.
• Write them a message or letter. Flick them an email, message – or you can even write them a letter – reminding them of all the reasons you are thankful to have them in your life. It only takes a few words to let them know you’re there when they need you.
• Listen and just be there. Showing that you're willing to listen to a person’s experience is really important. Sometimes you don't even need to say much. By listening and responding in a non-judgemental and reassuring manner – you’re helping in a major way.
• Hug them for as long as they need. There will be days when they need you to love them a little louder – a hug or gesture of comfort is a sure-fire way to reassure them you’re always going to be there.

It can be difficult to think clearly when you’re having thoughts or feelings about suicide. Having a step-by-step safety plan that lists all your coping strategies, reasons for living and support in one place, means you can focus on working through the steps until you feel safe. 

Because you create it, your plan will be unique to you. It’s best to do your plan when you’re feeling calm and settled - it can be even better if you can do it with someone you trust.

Here’s a step-by-step guide to protecting your best asset, you.

Don’t wait to seek support. If you’re thinking about suicide, it’s important to reach out. 

Download the BeyondNow app now.

It can be incredibly difficult to watch someone you know go through a hard time. Sometimes it can be tricky to know if someone is just going through a rough patch or whether there might be something more serious going on. When you start to suspect that someone is thinking about taking their own life, you may also feel confused and scared about what to do next. 

Tragically, suicide is the leading cause of death for Australians aged between 15-44. Suicide prevention starts with recognising the warning signs. Though these may vary between people, here are some of the more common warning signs when it comes to suicide:

• Social isolation or feeling alone
• Aggression or irritability
• Possessing lethal means
• Feeling like a burden to others
• Dramatic changes in mood and behaviour
• Frequently talking about death
• A history of suicidal behaviour
• Engaging in 'risky' behaviours
• Feeling like you don't belong
• Giving things away
• Alcohol and drug abuse
• Feeling trapped
• Feeling worthless
• A sense of hopelessness or no hope for the future

If you notice warning signs in someone you care about, it’s important to start the conversation. Talking to someone about whether they’re having suicidal thoughts can be hard. However, know that you’re not putting the idea of suicide into their head. Rather, you are reminding them that they are not alone and that there are supports out there to help them.

So how do you start the conversation? The best way is to be honest with them about what you’ve noticed and how you feel: “You haven’t seemed yourself lately and I’m worried about you.”

Follow this up with assuring them that you are there for them: “I want to help you and I’m here for you if you want to talk.”

By learning about suicide and the language to use, you’ll feel more equipped to have these hard conversations. The Conversations Matter website is a useful resource on what to say/not to say when it comes to suicide. However whilst it’s great to utilise these resources, it’s also important to recognise that you don’t have to be an expert. You don’t need to have the answers or offer solutions to anyone’s problems. It’s more important to ensure you’re being a mindful listener.

Encourage the person to create a suicide safety plan. This is a structured plan of strategies and supports that they can work through when they’re feeling suicidal. They can do this alone or with a support person. It’s important that their safety plan is easily accessible – it can be done by using the BeyondNow app, the form on the bb website or on a piece of paper. 

If you’re really worried about someone, there are some important resources you can use to talk it through. Lifeline provide crisis support and suicide prevention services – they can be contacted 24 hours a day, 7 days a week on 13 11 14. There is also the Suicide Call Back Service on 1300 659 467 and the Beyond Blue Support Service which can be contacted on 1300 224 636. If you think someone is in immediate danger, call emergency services on 000 and stay with them until help arrives. 

Kind Regards

Alex Stewart

College Officer

Hollie's story

It happened when I was sitting a mid-term exam.

I hadn't studied for the topic. I couldn't find the motivation to get out of bed most days, let alone learn what I needed to. I sat down to begin the exam and realised that I didn't know anything, not a single thing. A wave of panic washed over me. I was going to fail the exam, which meant I was going to fail the subject, which meant I needed to spend another semester at university and my mind could not handle that. I suddenly couldn't breathe, I burst into tears and told my lecturer that I needed to leave and simply walked out the door. I headed straight to the counsellor's office on campus where they managed to calm me down and would only let me leave after I had made a follow-up appointment for the following week.

I had known I needed help for a long time. I just couldn't bring myself to say or do anything about it. The social stigma attached to speaking up about anxiety and depression was more frightening to me than the notion of having to continue dealing with my condition. Fortunately, I was pushed into getting help and I don't know if I would still be here now if I hadn't been.

At my first appointment, I was diagnosed with a major depressive episode and generalised anxiety disorder (GAD). I expected it but there was still a huge weight lifted off my shoulders knowing that there was something behind the severe despair and loneliness that I had been feeling for years. My therapist was amazing, so were my doctors – they have done everything in their power to help me heal.

Unfortunately, my depression and anxiety are chronic. I will be fighting for the rest of my life. My condition still scares me sometimes. I'm afraid I will never have a normal life, that my anxiety will prevent me from having meaningful relationships, that if I have kids I will pass this onto them and I'm afraid my family will never understand.

But I am determined to win, to fight and to overcome this. And I know I'm not the only one out there who is.

Forget Paris Hilton and the Kardashians – children are the ultimate socialites. From birth, babies spend almost every waking minute developing their first relationships with their parents and close family members. Through these relationships, young children learn that they can trust people to care for them, get their needs met and enjoy life with others.

Think about the relationship your child has with you as being the foundation on which they’ll build all their subsequent relationships. When this is strong, and when kids get the comfort and reassurance they need from you, they feel confident exploring the world from a stable, secure base.

What you can do to help

• It might seem obvious, but make sure you spend plenty of quality time interacting with your child. Talk about what you’re doing, ask lots of questions, and make time to play together.
• Support your child to learn skills such as sharing and helping others – helping to pack up their own toys for example.
• Talk with your child about how other people use facial expressions and body language to show how they’re feeling – for example, when someone turns away when you’re playing with them, they might need a break.
• Explain the links – and differences – between feelings and behaviour using everyday situations. For example, talking about why we don’t throw our toys when we’re feeling frustrated will help your child understand what acceptable behaviour looks like.
• Help them to show interest in what others are doing, and give compliments to their playmates.
• Praise your child for being friendly and caring about others.
• Help children to use words to say what they need and feel, such as "I would like a turn with that"; or "Would you like to play in the play house with me?"

Developing empathy

You can see the first signs of bonding in a very young baby as they gaze into your eyes, and relax when you hold or rock them gently.

From a young age a baby will also recognise you by seeing you and hearing your voice. They may show this by greeting you with delight, huge social smiles or by laughing out loud. They’ll soon recognise their own name and love to play ‘turn-taking’ games with you. This is the start of the give and take of relationships.

Taking turns

Being able to take turns with others is key for children’s social development. There are many ways adults can encourage children to take turns – some examples include:

• Presenting give and take interactions with babies – when the baby smiles, smile back; when they make a sound, make the sound back and then wait for the baby to take a turn. This is the start of social interaction – I talk, and then I wait and listen for you to talk, and so on.
• Older babies love to play peek-a-boo or hiding games – once they get the hang of it, give them a turn to hide.
• Rolling a ball backwards and forwards between you.
• Blowing kisses to each other, giving your baby time to take a turn.
• When you’re playing a game with your baby, leave a space for them to signal that they want to go on playing, then respond.
• Take turns feeding each other.
• Take turns putting blocks on a tower.
• Join in your toddler’s game. Make some of the car or rocket noises, then wait and see if they want to take a turn.
• Sing songs and leave a space for the toddler to put in some words or actions.

Find out more

• Learn more about developing friendships
• Learn about emotional development
• Understanding your child's temperament

It’s quite common for young people to go through the ups and downs of adolescence and to feel strong emotions. But for some young people, the downs can be so intense and extreme that they think about taking their own life.

So how do you figure out what’s within a ‘normal range’ and when you should be concerned?

Research shows that there are some key suicide warning signs to be aware of. Warning signs are behavioural changes, thoughts or feelings that can provide 'clues' or 'red flags' about your young person’s risk of suicide.

Some warning signs may be relatively easy to pick up, such as when a young person talks about death or says they want to die.

Other signs are harder to spot – if your young person is trying to hide their feelings and emotions from family or friends, you’ll need to watch out for changes in their behaviour.

You’re really looking for dramatic changes in behaviour and mood over a relatively short period of time:

1. Watch for dramatic changes in behaviour
2. Monitor changes
3. Ask questions

Take all warning signs seriously. If a young person you care about is in immediate danger, call 000. Never leave a potentially suicidal young person alone – stay until help arrives, or take them to your local hospital’s emergency department.

Common warning signs

• A sense of hopelessness or no hope for the future.
• Isolation or feeling alone – “No one understands me”.
• Aggressiveness and irritability – “Leave me alone”.
• Possessing lethal means – e.g. medication, sharp objects, weapons.
• Negative view of self – “I am worthless”.
• Drastic changes in mood and behaviour.
• Frequently talking or writing about death – “If I died, would you miss me?”
• Self-harming behaviours like cutting.
• Engaging in 'risky' behaviours – “I’ll try anything, I’m not afraid to die".
• Making funeral arrangements.
• Giving things away like clothes or expensive gifts – “When I am gone, I want you to have this”.
• Substance abuse.
• Feeling like a burden to others – “You would be better off without me”.
• Making suicide threats – “Sometimes I feel like I just want to die”.

Listening and talking

One way to understand how your young person is feeling is by listening to how they talk to their mates online. Watch what they may be saying on social media sites such as Facebook, Instagram and Twitter. If you suspect something’s wrong, talk to them about it.

Don’t be afraid to ask questions – you can’t put the thought of suicide into someone’s head by raising the issue.

Rather, talking things through gives your young person a chance to open up and share what they’re going through, and allows you to support them.

Google LLC^[5] is an American multinational technology company that specializes in Internet-related services and products, which include online advertising technologies, search engine, cloud computing, software, and hardware. Google was founded in 1998 by Larry Page and Sergey Brin while they were Ph.D. students at Stanford University in California. Together they own about 14 percent of its shares and control 56 percent of the stockholder voting power through supervoting stock. They incorporated Google as a privately held company on September 4, 1998. An initial public offering (IPO) took place on August 19, 2004, and Google moved to its headquarters in Mountain View, California, nicknamed the Googleplex. In August 2015, Google announced plans to reorganize its various interests as a conglomerate called Alphabet Inc. Google is Alphabet's leading subsidiary and will continue to be the umbrella company for Alphabet's Internet interests. Sundar Pichai was appointed CEO of Google, replacing Larry Page who became the CEO of Alphabet.

The company's rapid growth since incorporation has triggered a chain of products, acquisitions, and partnerships beyond Google's core search engine (Google Search). It offers services designed for work and productivity (Google Docs, Google Sheets, and Google Slides), email (Gmail/Inbox), scheduling and time management (Google Calendar), cloud storage (Google Drive), social networking (Google+), instant messaging and video chat (Google Allo, Duo, Hangouts), language translation (Google Translate), mapping and navigation (Google Maps, Waze, Google Earth, Street View), video sharing (YouTube), note-taking (Google Keep), and photo organizing and editing (Google Photos). The company leads the development of the Android mobile operating system, the Google Chrome web browser, and Chrome OS, a lightweight operating system based on the Chrome browser. Google has moved increasingly into hardware; from 2010 to 2015, it partnered with major electronics manufacturers in the production of its Nexusdevices, and it released multiple hardware products in October 2016, including the Google Pixel smartphone, Google Home smart speaker, Google Wifi mesh wireless router, and Google Daydream virtual reality headset. Google has also experimented with becoming an Internet carrier. In February 2010, it announced Google Fiber, a fiber-optic infrastructure that was installed in Kansas City; in April 2015, it launched Project Fi in the United States, combining Wi-Fi and cellular networks from different providers; and in 2016, it announced the Google Station initiative to make public Wi-Fi available around the world, with initial deployment in India.^[6]

Alexa Internet monitors commercial web traffic and lists Google.com as the most visited website in the world. Several other Google services also figure in the top 100 most visited websites, including YouTube and Blogger. Google is the most valuable brand in the world as of 2017,^[7] but has received significant criticism involving issues such as privacy concerns, tax avoidance, antitrust, censorship, and search neutrality. Google's mission statement is "to organize the world's information and make it universally accessible and useful", and its unofficial slogan was "Don't be evil". In October 2015, the motto was replaced in the Alphabet corporate code of conduct by the phrase "Do the right thing", while the original one was retained in the code of conduct of Google.^[8] Around May 2018, the slogan was silently removed from the code's clauses, leaving only one generic reference in its last paragraph.^[9]

History

Google began in January 1996 as a research project by Larry Page and Sergey Brin when they were both PhD students at Stanford University in Stanford, California.^[11]

While conventional search engines ranked results by counting how many times the search terms appeared on the page, the two theorized about a better system that analyzed the relationships among websites.^[12] They called this new technology PageRank; it determined a website's relevance by the number of pages, and the importance of those pages that linked back to the original site.^[13][14]

Page and Brin originally nicknamed their new search engine "BackRub", because the system checked backlinks to estimate the importance of a site.^[15][16][17] Eventually, they changed the name to Google; the name of the search engine originated from a misspelling of the word "googol",^[18][19] the number 1 followed by 100 zeros, which was picked to signify that the search engine was intended to provide large quantities of information.^[20] Originally, Google ran under Stanford University's website, with the domains google.stanford.edu^[21] and z.stanford.edu.^[22]

The domain name for Google was registered on September 15, 1997,^[23] and the company was incorporated on September 4, 1998. It was based in the garage of a friend (Susan Wojcicki^[11]) in Menlo Park, California. Craig Silverstein, a fellow PhD student at Stanford, was hired as the first employee.^[11][24][25]

Financing (1998) and initial public offering (2004)

Google was initially funded by an August 1998 contribution of $100,000 from Andy Bechtolsheim, co-founder of Sun Microsystems; the money was given before Google was incorporated.^[27] Google received money from three other angel investors in 1998: Amazon.com founder Jeff Bezos, Stanford University computer science professor David Cheriton, and entrepreneur Ram Shriram.^[28]

After some additional, small investments through the end of 1998 to early 1999,^[28] a new $25 million round of funding was announced on June 7, 1999,^[29] with major investors including the venture capital firms Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers and Sequoia Capital.^[27]

Early in 1999, Brin and Page decided they wanted to sell Google to Excite. They went to Excite CEO George Bell and offered to sell it to him for $1 million. He rejected the offer. Vinod Khosla, one of Excite's venture capitalists, talked the duo down to $750,000, but Bell still rejected it.^[30]

Google's initial public offering (IPO) took place five years later, on August 19, 2004. At that time Larry Page, Sergey Brin, and Eric Schmidtagreed to work together at Google for 20 years, until the year 2024.^[31]

At IPO, the company offered 19,605,052 shares at a price of $85 per share.^[32][33] Shares were sold in an online auction format using a system built by Morgan Stanley and Credit Suisse, underwriters for the deal.^[34][35] The sale of $1.67 bn (billion) gave Google a market capitalizationof more than $23bn.^[36] By January 2014, its market capitalization had grown to $397bn.^[37] The vast majority of the 271 million shares remained under the control of Google, and many Google employees became instant paper millionaires. Yahoo!, a competitor of Google, also benefitted because it owned 8.4 million shares of Google before the IPO took place.^[38]

There were concerns that Google's IPO would lead to changes in company culture. Reasons ranged from shareholder pressure for employee benefit reductions to the fact that many company executives would become instant paper millionaires.^[39] As a reply to this concern, co-founders Brin and Page promised in a report to potential investors that the IPO would not change the company's culture.^[40] In 2005, articles in The New York Times^[41] and other sources began suggesting that Google had lost its anti-corporate, no evil philosophy.^[42][43][44] In an effort to maintain the company's unique culture, Google designated a Chief Culture Officer, who also serves as the Director of Human Resources. The purpose of the Chief Culture Officer is to develop and maintain the culture and work on ways to keep true to the core values that the company was founded on: a flat organization with a collaborative environment.^[45] Google has also faced allegations of sexism and ageism from former employees.^[46][47] In 2013, a class action against several Silicon Valley companies, including Google, was filed for alleged "no cold call" agreements which restrained the recruitment of high-tech employees.^[48]

The stock performed well after the IPO, with shares hitting $350 for the first time on October 31, 2007,^[49] primarily because of strong sales and earnings in the online advertising market.^[50] The surge in stock price was fueled mainly by individual investors, as opposed to large institutional investors and mutual funds.^[50] GOOG shares split into GOOG class C shares and GOOGL class A shares.^[51] The company is listed on the NASDAQ stock exchange under the ticker symbols GOOGL and GOOG, and on the Frankfurt Stock Exchange under the ticker symbol GGQ1. These ticker symbols now refer to Alphabet Inc., Google's holding company, since the fourth quarter of 2015.^[52]

Your Sincerely 

Larry Page 

Founder of Google 

If you’re getting ready to leave school, it’s likely that everywhere you go you’ll be asked what you want to be ‘when you grow up’. If you’re still looking into possible courses, tossing up between two fields or have no idea what kind of career you want, consider these three options.

Choose a generalist degree
Generalist degrees are a good choice if you have a broad area of interest but aren't sure which exact career is for you. They allow you to explore your options without committing to a single specialisation — or at least not in your first year out of school. If your interests are in the humanities, for example, you may choose a broad arts degree that will allow you to study subjects as varied as anthropology, creative writing, languages and women’s studies. Once you decide on a specialisation, you can choose a major (perhaps in your second year) or hone in on a specific area through a postgraduate degree. This is becoming more and more common, with two Australian universities (The University of Melbourne and The University of Western Australia) already having moved to a two-part degree structure, where students complete a generalist bachelor degree before progressing into a higher degree with a more specialised focus (usually at masters level). You might consider looking out for work experience options (such as internships or part-time cadetships) during your undergraduate degree to get a first-hand experience of a particular job and refine your potential career options.

‘Try out’ a field of study
If you’re still weighing up the pros and cons of a certain field, but aren’t sure if you want to commit to three or four years of study, why not try a lower-level qualification in the field? A certificate course, for example, usually takes around six months of full-time study and will give you a good idea of what further study will be like and whether it’s the right field for you. Depending on the qualification level you choose, you may even be granted credit if you then enter a bachelor degree in a related field. You may also choose to enrol into a single unit to gain some insight into a field of study you are considering. Single units may also be credited if you choose to complete a course in the field.

Take a gap year
Taking a gap year is another option, as it gives you time to think about your options. You can use a gap year to travel, gain some work experience or perhaps just to take a much needed break. You might even decide to take a shorter break and apply for courses at mid-year intake. This means that you will have a few months to weigh up your options away from the stress of Year 12 and gain some insight from friends who have already begun their studies. Not all courses are offered at mid-year, so it is best to check with individual institutions if you are considering this option.

When children can’t find the meaning in numbers and symbols, solving problems is a struggle. Math in Focus^®: Singapore Math^® by Marshall Cavendish^® © 2018 helps students make sense of math. Through hands-on learning, visualization, and pictorial representations, their understanding, confidence, and love of math grows.

Math in Focus, the U.S. edition of the highly effective Singapore Math^® curriculum, provides easy-to-use teaching and learning paths proven to develop students’ foundational understanding. Built on a framework developed by the Singapore Ministry of Education, it draws on best practices from around the world and highlights problem solving as the focus of mathematical learning.

Exceptional Results

Since the Trends in International Math and Science Study (TIMSS) reporting began in 1995, Singapore has consistently ranked at the top in math achievement. Singaporean students consistently rank significantly above the world's average on the Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA), which assesses 15-year-old students. Math in Focus embodies the best practices that have propelled Singapore students to the top of international comparison studies.

Overview

Ensure every child’s ability to master concepts and apply mathematics

Problem solving is at the heart of the Singapore Math^®curriculum, with five key aspects of instruction supporting that goal, including attitude and metacognition. This program empowers students to develop critical-thinking skills, positive attitudes, and the confidence to persevere—setting the stage for achievement.

Research-based pedagogy builds mastery.

Visualization

An emphasis on visualization and the purposeful unfolding of content help students develop true conceptual understanding.

Gradual Release 

Through a consistent learning path—student-focused instruction, guided learning, and independent practice with gradual release—students deepen understanding and tackle routine and non-routine problems.

Scaffolded Content

Instruction adapts to meet the needs of individual learners through scaffolding and systematic sequencing of prompted content.