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8/14/2019 Where will you send your kids to school?
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For Immediate Release April 2009
The old Coburg High School logo
Where will you send your kids to school?
In Coburg and the surrounding suburbs, this issue is more pressing than in most areas.
From West Preston to Pascoe Vale and Fawkner to Brunswick, there have been
sixteen secondary schools closed down or merged in the past eighteen years with the
result being there is no open entry state high school within 3.5 kilometres of the BellStreet / Sydney Road intersection in any direction (see map below).
HSC (High School for Coburg) is a group of concerned, outraged and active parents,
grandparents and friends who are pressing for a secondary school to be opened in
the area.
Within the same area are 22 state and Catholic primary schools whose graduates are
being forced to leave their friends to find a school. In 2008, as an example:
• 18 children who graduated from Newlands Primary are going to 9 different
secondary schools
• 49 children who graduated from Preston West Primary are going to 13 differentsecondary schools
The situation is becoming impossible as the secondary schools in nearby
Strathmore, Brunswick, Northcote and other areas are either full or nearing
capacity and families are moving out of Coburg to gain access to secondary
education. It shouldn’t be that hard to send your children to school.
“The lack of schools contributes to a lack of community,” says Cate Hall, one of
the founding members of the HSC group. “Children don’t go to secondary
school with their friends, families lose touch and the community suffers as a direct
result.”
The 2008 Moreland Community Indicators Survey results showed that “lack of
schools” was one of the top five issues for residents*.
Under the accepted Moreland City Council Coburg 2020 plan, there will be 4998
new homes in the area** (not counting the proposed old Kodak factory site re-
development and Pentridge Prison re-development).
There has been an increase in birth rate across Moreland of almost 20%. This is
already causing problems at pre-school level and will flow on to high schools very
soon***.
Every politician spoken to agrees it is a big issue. Already HSC has over 1000 nameson a petition and the aim is simple – get a high quality, open entry state secondary
school up and running for the local children.
8/14/2019 Where will you send your kids to school?
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For more information and to sign the petition please visit www.highschoolcoburg.org.
- ends -
Map showing the state and Catholic primary
schools in and around Coburg
Map showing no open entry
secondary schools in the same area.The two schools shown are Coburg
Senior High School (years 10 to 12)
and Preston Girls High School
Secondary schools closed down / merged in the Coburg area over the past 18 years:
• Moreland City College - closed 31 December 2004 - now Coburg Senior High
School – years 10 to 12 only
• Coburg High School – closed 31 December 1993 - buildings demolished and site
awaiting permit approval for development
• Newlands High School - closed 19 December 1992 - buildings demolished, site now
part of Pentridge Prison development• Coburg Technical School - now Coburg Special Development School
• Hadfield Secondary College – closed on 31 December 1992 - buildings
demolished, site now a retirement village
• Moreland High School – closed on 31 December 1991 - now Kangan Batman TAFE
• Oak Park Secondary School – closed 31 December 1992
• Moomba Park Secondary College, Glenroy High School, Glenroy Technical School,
Hadfield Secondary College and Oak Park Secondary College merged on 1
January 1993 to form Box Forest Secondary College
• Brunswick High School, Brunswick Technical School and Brunswick East High School
merged on 1 January 1993 to form Brunswick Secondary College
To interview Denis Matson JP, Cate Hall or Morena Milani, founding members of HSC,for high res images of the maps, additional population statistics, photo opportunities
or more information, please contact:
Darren Saffin
Handle Communications
0411 089 209
*Source - http://www.moreland.vic.gov.au/mccwr/_assets/main/lib91108/topline2308.xls
** Source - http://www.moreland.vic.gov.au/mccwr/publications/policies-strategies-plans/central-coburg-
2020-structure-plan-vol1-preface.pdf
***Source - http://www.moreland.vic.gov.au/mccwr/publications/newsletters/im08_front.pdf page 23
