By Ben Richards, Freddie Moffat, Phoebe Miller, Yarrah Muneer and David Allen
It’s no secret the western suburbs are growing fast. It’s also no secret the west has less infrastructure funding, for everything from transport to government services.
A key issue for families who are flocking to the region is schooling.
In Hobsons Bay and Maribyrnong municipalities alone there are more than 18,000 families with at least one child – most of these families have two children. According to recent estimates, there are approximately 31,000 children under the age of 15 in these areas.
Most of these children will be in high school in the next five years but many locals fear the region doesn’t have enough schools to cater for them.
In Hobsons Bay there are five institutions offering public secondary education (Altona College, Bayside College, Laverton College, Western Autistic School and Williamstown High School). Some schools like Bayside Secondary and Williamstown High have multiple campuses but they service specific year levels.
Maribyrnong also has five schools providing a public secondary education (Braybrook College, Footscray High School, Maribyrnong Secondary College, Rosamund Special School and Western English Language School) however they’re more centralised to the north of the area.
One of these schools is a special development school and one is an English development school bringing the tally of “mainstream” public secondary schools down to three, one less than Hobsons Bay, discounting its one specialist campus.
That makes ten public high schools catering for an area spanning almost 100km² and over 31,000 children. The situation in Wyndham, Melton, and Brimbank municipalities is not much better.
Brimbank Council’s area has eight schools offering public secondary education (Copperfield College, Jackson School, Keilor Downs Secondary College, St Albans Secondary College, Sunshine College, Sunshine Special Development School, Victoria University Secondary College and Taylors Lakes Secondary College). Over 18,000 households in Brimbank had young children according to the 2021 census, or just under 34,000 people aged five to 19.
Melton Council’s area has 11 schools offering public secondary education (Brookside College, Creekside College, Dharra School, Kurunjang Secondary College, Lakeside Senior College, Melton Secondary College, Melton Specialist School, Springside West Secondary College, Staughton College, Western English Language School and Yarrabing Secondary College). Over 23,000 households in the City of Melton had young children according to the 2021 census, or over 40,000 people aged five to 19.
Wyndham Council’s area has 16 schools offering public secondary education (Alamander College, Bermin Secondary College, Brinbeal Secondary College, Homestead Senior Secondary College, Manor Lakes College, Nganboo Borron School, Point Cook Senior Secondary College, Saltwater College, Suzanne Cory High School, Tarneit Senior College, Walcom Ngarrwa Secondary College, Warringa Park School, Werribee Secondary College, West English Language School, Wyndham Central Secondary College). Over 40,000 households in the City of Wyndham had young children according to the 2021 census, or 64,000 people aged five to 19.
The Victorian Government previously committed to building 100 new schools by 2026.
The first schools under this scheme opened in 2019, with the project on-track for its 2026 goal. However, no new schools are being built in Hobsons Bay or Maribyrnong under this program.
The lack of available public secondary education has led to parents expressing concerns over class sizes.
“Classes are overcrowded, placing extreme strain on teachers and staff trying to teach students,” says local parent Bruce Bainton.
Data from schools and the Victorian Department of Education show that schools in the area are towards the highest average class sizes in the state.
Another local, Melissa Boyd, says she’s noticed “teachers leaving in droves” from local schools which is leading to resources being stretched thin.
Parents have also expressed concerns over the negative reputation some local schools have. Local parent Rebecca Baschiera has decided to send her daughter to a state school outside of her designated school zone because she “would never send them” to her designated school.
Sharyn Re in Maribyrnong also resorted to sending her child to a school in the eastern suburbs. Other parents told us they were aware of many locals doing the same with some sending their kids to state schools in regional Victoria.
Securing places in schools outside of your designated catchment zone isn’t guaranteed. Spots are usually extremely limited, if there are any available at all.
Newport mum Christine tried to get a place in Williamstown High, inspired by her neighbour being successful the previous year. She couldn’t get a place, and instead decided to send her daughter to one of three private schools in the area instead of her designated state school.
“The idea of a good state school for everyone regardless of ability to pay is one I would strongly support. Private school promotes elite separation, so not something which should be prevalent in teens,” she says.
While there are no new schools opening in the area, the Victorian Government has previously committed funding for some schools in the area, but information on what this funding will be used for is reported on a school-by-school basis. All information about what funding will be used for is either unspecific or not available.
The Victorian Department of Education was contacted for this story but did not respond.
