Centre for Higher Education Studies

What Centre for Higher Education Studies does

The Centre for Higher Education Studies (CHES) is a Victorian Government educational centre operated under the Department of Education (Victoria, Australia), headquartered at 669 Chapel Street, South Yarra. It serves high-ability and high-achieving senior secondary students attending Victorian government schools, with the stated mission of bridging the gap between secondary schooling and university. Its core programs include Higher Education Studies (HES) — first-year university subjects delivered as part of the VCE program — select VCE subjects, and Year 10 enrichment electives. Supporting services include a Professional Learning Program for educators, a Professional Learning Community (PLC), and student enrichment activities such as masterclasses, mentoring, and university campus visits.

Delivery is built around a proprietary hy-flex (hybrid-flexible) teaching and learning model that combines online instruction with on-site classes at the South Yarra centre and university campus-based experiences. The model is engineered for statewide reach — metropolitan, rural, regional, and remote — and allows flexible scheduling outside standard school hours. HES subjects are calibrated to VCE Unit 3–4 duration and workload, contributing ATAR points (3–5 point uplift as a fifth or sixth subject) and potential university credits at delivering institutions.

CHES is funded by the Victorian Government Department of Education. All student programs and professional learning courses are provided at no cost to government school participants, with no penalty for withdrawal or failure. The centre partners with multiple Victorian universities — including the University of Melbourne and Deakin University — to deliver HES subjects and to co-issue professional learning certificates. Application is merit-based through the CHES enrolment committee and university partners, and programs are distributed via direct enrollment, information evenings, webinars, and an annual statewide High-Ability Conference.

Name

Centre for Higher Education Studies

Legal name

Centre for Higher Education Studies

Website

https://ches.vic.edu.au

Company type

Public

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Victorian Government educational centre delivering accelerated Higher Education Studies, VCE subjects, and enrichment programs to high-ability senior secondary students from government schools across Victoria via a proprietary hy-flex delivery model, fully subsidised by the Department of Education.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Secondary Education - Gifted and High-Ability Programs

NAICS

Educational Services (61)

SIC

Services-Educational Services (8200)

akta.pro primary industry

Education Professionals (Teacher/Administrator CE, CPD) (EDAAALAE)

akta.pro secondary industry

Public-Private Partnerships (PPP) in Education (EDADALAD)

Keywords

• Gifted education programs
• Secondary enrichment programs
• University extension studies
• Professional development for educators
• Accelerated learning programs

Headquarters

HQ city

South Yarra

HQ country

Australia

HQ region

Oceania

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Technology or R&D, Infrastructure, Marketing or Sales

Revenue model

1. Government Funding: Funded by the Victorian Government Department of Education. All student programs are provided at no cost to government school participants.
2. CRT Funding Support: CRT (Cover, Release, Transfer) funding available to cover attendance of professional learning participants. Programs fully subsidised for government schools with no cost to schools.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels7 records

Core offering

The Centre for Higher Education Studies (CHES) is a Victorian Government educational centre that delivers accelerated academic programs for high-ability senior secondary students. Its core offerings include Higher Education Studies (first-year university subjects taken as part of VCE), select VCE subjects, Year 10 enrichment electives, and a professional learning program for Victorian government school educators. All student and educator programs are provided free of charge to Victorian government school participants.

Product overview

Centre for Higher Education Studies (CHES) is a Victorian government education centre offering a suite of programs for high-ability senior secondary students. The core offerings include: (1) Higher Education Studies (HES) - first-year university subjects delivered via hy-flex model for Year 12 students; (2) select VCE subjects; and (3) Year 10 enrichment electives. These programs bridge schools and universities, enabling students to earn ATAR points and potential university credits. Supporting services include a Professional Learning Program for educators (webinars, workshops, annual conference), a Professional Learning Community, and student enrichment activities including masterclasses, mentoring, and campus visits. All programs are fully subsidised for government school participants.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Quantifiable outcome

• Adds 3 to 5 points to ATAR aggregate as fifth or sixth subject
• +1 more outcomes

Named customers2 records

Segments2 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature3 records

Partnerships

Three partnerships are on record, tiered core.

• University of MelbournecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerUniversity partner delivering Higher Education Studies subjects to high-achieving CHES students as part of VCE program. Students gain exposure to university resources and receive potential university credits.
• Deakin UniversitycoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership for statewide professional learning program for Victorian government school teachers. Deakin University co-issues certificates of completion and provides access to a resource portal. Workshops run 9:00am–3:30pm with practical classroom action plans.
• Victorian UniversitiescoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCHES partners with multiple Victorian universities to deliver HES subjects. Each HES is equivalent to VCE Unit 3–4 sequence and contributes ATAR points and potential university credits at the delivering university.

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves4 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Broad incumbents

• Gifted and Talented programs (Queensland Department of Education): Queensland Department of Education provides extension programs for high-ability students across state schools. Comparable as another Australian state-level publicly funded mechanism for high-ability secondary extension, addressing a similar equity-of-access policy mandate.
• Center for Talented Youth (Johns Hopkins): Established international provider of enrichment and university-credit programs for academically advanced pre-college students. Comparable as a model for delivering university-level subjects and summer/term enrichment to high-ability secondary learners.
• Selective Schools (NSW Department of Education): NSW operates fully selective and partially selective high schools for high-ability students across the state. Comparable as a publicly funded selective-extension model for academically gifted secondary students, though operating as a permanent school network rather than a single centre.

Emerging players

• Australian Mathematical Olympiad Committee (AMOC): Committee selecting and training Australia's International Mathematical Olympiad team from high-ability secondary students. Comparable as a high-ability extension and identification pathway intersecting the student population CHES serves.
• Australian Science Innovations: Runs the Australian Science Olympiad and related extension programs identifying and supporting high-ability secondary students nationally. Comparable as an enrichment pathway operator whose students are likely candidates for CHES's accelerated programs.
• Australian Mathematical Sciences Institute (AMSI): National not-for-profit delivering mathematical sciences extension programs (including CHOPS and schools programs) to high-ability secondary students across Australia. Comparable as a STEM-focused enrichment provider overlapping CHES's extension and equity-of-access mission.

Direct peers

• Victorian Academy of Teaching and Leadership: Victorian Government body delivering advanced professional learning for teachers and school leaders. Directly comparable as a state-funded education entity under the same Department of Education, addressing a closely adjacent educator CPD mandate to CHES's professional learning program.
• John Monash Science School: Victorian government secondary school for high-ability Year 10–12 students, offering accelerated VCE and university-level subjects. Directly comparable as a state-funded, high-ability secondary extension provider operating under the Victorian Department of Education alongside CHES.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights5 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/centre-for-higher-education-studies

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments

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Frequently asked questions about Centre for Higher Education Studies