The Melbourne suburbs facing the back-to-school crunch
By Noel Towell and Daniella White
Schools in Melbourne’s sprawling growth corridors are still struggling to cope with enrolment demand as more than a million Victorian children go back to school this week.
About 77,000 four- and five-year-olds, including the first of Melbourne’s “COVID babies” born in the first half of 2020 in the early stages of the pandemic, will experience their milestone first day at school.
(Clockwise from left) Zac and Alex Boyd-Plymin, Ranveer and Rajveer Verma, Jacob and Olivia Kristiansen, and Ranbir and Harbir Brar are four of the five sets of twins starting year 7 at Marymede Catholic College’s new Doreen campus.Credit: Chris Hopkins
Classes at state schools begin on Wednesday morning. Many Catholic and private schools will take a staggered approach to resuming classes, but all schoolchildren will be at their desks by Friday, among them the five sets of twins starting year 7 at Marymede Catholic College’s Doreen campus on Melbourne’s booming northern fringe.
Principal Timothy Newcomb said on Tuesday that the new year 7-to-12 campus had welcomed its first students last year and expected to be operating a waiting list by 2026 as demand for school places in the region soared.
“Parents are really aspirational for their children, and they want them to have a quality education in a safe environment and one which supports students’ growth,” Newcomb said.
Among Marymede’s bumper crop of year 7 twins are Ranveer and Rajveer Verma, from nearby Mernda.
The boys’ father, Sunil, said he and his wife had chosen Marymede over local public schools because of its academic and sporting opportunities, as well as a focus on discipline.
“We heard good stories about the school and its programs, but we missed out on [Marymede’s] South Morang campus. Luckily, we were able to enrol here,” he said.
But not all Melbourne families have been lucky enough to land their school of choice for this year, with the supply of places on Melbourne’s fringe struggling to keep up with demand.
The local government areas with the biggest increase in students
- Wyndham – 9736
- Melton – 7100
- Casey – 5656
- Hume – 4117
- Greater Dandenong – 2590
- Whittlesea – 2473
- Greater Geelong – 2440
- Cardinia – 1493
- Ballarat – 980
- Monash – 952
*Increase in FTE student enrolments between 2021 and 2024 by LGA
A group representing growth-area local councils says 40 per cent of the babies born in Victoria in 2023 were to families in Cardinia, Casey, Hume, Melton, Mitchell Shire, Whittlesea – where Marymede is located – and Wyndham.
Bronwen Clark, chief executive of the National Growth Areas Alliance, says children in those seven council areas have 26 per cent fewer educational opportunities than those in neighbouring suburbs, despite the state government’s efforts to keep up with school building and expansion.
“State government investment is welcome but retrospective,” Clark said.
“Population growth patterns clearly show where the children will be in the next decade, but the state government has waited until a large new school will open at capacity and need additional classrooms from the get-go.
“School proximity on development sites is a big drawcard for families to invest in a house, but can be delayed so long the child is ready for high school.”
The schooling boom was putting pressure on other infrastructure too, Clark said, pointing to Casey in Melbourne’s outer south-east, where more than 70,000 students will start school tomorrow, generating an estimated 420,000 extra trips on congested local roads every week.
In the west, Melton Council says eight new secondary schools will be needed in the area by 2031 to accommodate an extra 7000 students, with primary pupil numbers in the council area set to soar from 21,000 to nearly 30,000 by 2031.
Education Minister Ben Carroll said his government had a strong record when it came to building and expanding the state’s school capacity.
“Since 2015, we’ve funded more than 89,000 extra places in government schools through the construction of new campuses and upgrade works,” Carroll said.
“This includes 4000 extra places this year at six new schools opening in Melbourne’s high-growth corridors.
“We’re also easing cost-of-living pressures for families as they prepare to head back to school with measures like the $400 School Saving Bonus, free school dental check-ups, Glasses for Kids, free breakfasts, affordable school uniforms and the Camps, Sports and Excursions Fund.”
Melbourne Archdiocese Catholic Schools, which recorded an almost 4 per cent increase in enrolments in its secondary schools last year and 2 per cent in primary schools, said it too was feeling the surge in demand.
“We are expecting more than 11,000 students starting prep across MACS primary schools in 2025, and around 7000 students beginning year 7,” the group’s director of education excellence, Mary Oski, said.
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