Prairiewood offers a very diverse curriculum and includes a wide range of VET courses offered at the school and at TAFE, an area of emphasis which has existed since the earliest years of the school's operation in the late 1980s. With the change of 'status' in 2005, the mandatory study of a LOTE elective for all students during Years 9 and 10 (introduced as a curriculum initiative in 1991) ceased with a third 'free choice elective' introduced. However, following a major review and discussions as part of the school Quality Teaching focus introduced in 2006, further curriculum changes which involved increasing the number of periods allocated for core subjects in Stage 5 and an equity issue relating to student achievement in the School Certificate, have led to these changes being fully implemented in 2008.

In the Senior School, students are invited to choose from more than sixty-five different subjects, including extension courses in English, Mathematics, History and Languages, together with a significant selection of 2 Unit Board Developed courses, as well as other Board Endorsed and Vocational Education and Training (VET and TVET) courses being offered to students for the HSC. Prairiewood was the first school in this area to offer the new Entertainment VET course (commenced in 2005), with a VET Primary Industries course introduced in 2007.

Unfortunately, despite the best advice provided by school staff, some parents and students experience difficulty in making the most realistic and appropriate decisions about study and career aspirations beyond the HSC (with almost double the State average seeking university placement at the end of Year 12) and, as a result, many students who would benefit greatly from including some VET courses at school or TAFE in their study programs are reluctant to choose them, preferring instead to enrol in courses which may severely limit their opportunities for success.

Students enrolled in the Special Education (I.O.) classes work towards a Life Skills School Certificate and are actively involved in many whole school programs. Special curriculum initiatives which provide opportunities for work skills and social skills development both within and beyond the school have been extremely successful, with many of these students being offered employment upon leaving school. A hugely successful curriculum initiative which has operated for a number of years now has been the hospitality and catering program (including invitations to cater for events and training courses organised by district office and other outside groups) developed for our Senior I.O. students. A special feature of this program is the “Prairiewood Café” where students have the opportunity to develop their competencies in a range of areas related to hospitality.

A large number of students across all academic years is involved in wide-ranging gifted and talented programs, competitions and other extra curricular and sporting experiences including Astronomy Nights, the Ag. Show Team, Debating, Public Speaking, Chess, Theatre Sports, Drama and Music performances, Schools’ Spectacular, Talent Quests, School Newspaper Team, Duke of Edinburgh Award Program, Student Fitness Training, Year 7 Learn to Swim Program, Indoor and Outdoor Soccer, Hockey, Rugby Union, Touch Football, Cricket, Volleyball, European Handball, Basketball, AFL, Tennis, Table Tennis, Touch Football and other sporting knockout competitions.

Each year, a large number of students also participates in a range of National Schools' Competitions such as English, Maths, Science, Chemistry, Geography, Economics, Business Studies and ACER Languages' competitions. Many students have also been successful in achieving 1st place, championship and other awards at a different regional shows for their work in areas such as textiles, painting and drawing, cooking and ceramics. Students have also participated in Forensic Science, Ceramics and Cartooning and Digital Photography workshops.