Eynesbury Senior College to close at the end of the year

Adelaide CBD school Eynesbury Senior College will shut its doors at the end of the year.

Eynesbury Senior College on Franklin St, Adelaide. Picture: Cathy Davis

Eynesbury Senior College will close its doors at the end of the 2021 academic year as a consequence of the international border closure, it says.

The college, in Franklin St in the city, will continue to operate as usual for the remainder of the year.

The school has 149 students and 31 staff.

Eynesbury College, which operates from the same site as ESC and is run by Navitas, is not affected by the December closure of the senior college.

ESC chairman Stephen Spencer said the pending shut down was due to the international border closure caused by the Covid-19 pandemic.

“Before the international border closure, Navitas provided Eynesbury Senior College with up to 40 per cent of its cohort through international students,” he said.

“It also provides us with staff, our Franklin Street campus, and essential shared facilities.

“Unfortunately, as the COVID-19 pandemic continues, Navitas can no longer provide us with a campus or the necessary facilities, support and, importantly, the international student numbers that we require to remain operational.”

Eynesbury Senior College caters for Year 10, 11 and 12 students while Eynesbury College is a school exclusively for the preparation of international students entering tertiary studies in Australia.

Mr Spencer said the college council explored and exhausted “every available option,” in a bid to remain open, including relocating the campus and partnering with other educational institutions, however none of the options were feasible.

“Without the financial benefits of international students, remaining open in these circumstances could compromise the quality of the education that our students expect and deserve and affect our ability to attract and retain quality teaching staff,” Mr Spencer said.

He said it was an “incredibly difficult decision” to close.

Study Adelaide, which promotes the city to international students, said the closure was a “tragic outcome of the pandemic and our inability to bring international students to Australia”.

“It highlights the importance of international students to the education sector and the people it employs,” chief executive Karyn Kent said.

Education Minister John Gardner described the shut down as “very sad news for staff, students and the school community”.

“While the South Australian community has done exceptionally well in dealing with the coronavirus pandemic, this news reminds us of the significant disruption caused to many lives and jobs by Covid,” he said.

“This school is obviously particularly exposed to the difficulties bringing international students back to Australia and reminds us of the importance of working with SA Health and the Commonwealth Government to bring back international students as soon as we can, so long as SA Health confirms it is safe to do so.”