Quicker for students to swim to school from Avondale Heights

Frustrated parents say high school students living in Avondale Heights are expected to “swim or be catapulted” across the Maribyrnong River to get to school because of a flaw in the zoning system.

Parent Gemma Mowat, outside Maribyrnong College, has appealed for Avondale Heights’ odd zoning to be fixed. Picture: Andy Brownbill

Children are expected to swim or be “catapulted” across the Maribyrnong River to get to school quickly because of poorly planned school zones, some parents say.

A household’s zone is matched to the closest school as the crow flies, and that rule is due to remain when some school zones change this year.

But families living in Avondale Heights have revealed that they are cut off to their one zoned high school — Braybrook College — by the Maribyrnong River.

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To get there, students have to travel through multiple suburbs, cross the river and drive past Maribyrnong College.

Avondale Heights mum Gemma Mowat has two young daughters and is planning ahead for secondary school options.

A few weeks ago she realised the school her girls were zoned for was double the distance of the closest state high school because of the river.

The Maribyrnong River.

“I’m only zoned for Braybrook Secondary College but Maribyrnong College is half the distance (by road),” she said.

“Unless they want to swim to school, it’s not going to help having a zoned school across the river.”

Rosehill Secondary College is about 6km away and is unzoned but Ms Mowat said she was wary of that changing by the time her children entered high school.

“Rosehill Secondary is not at capacity yet but in 10 years’ time when my kids go to school it could be zoned,” she said.

Cr Samantha Byrne successfully moved a notice of motion at last week’s council meeting to review the secondary school zones in Avondale Heights.

Cr Byrne said the Education Department had started a review of school zones and it was the perfect time to advocate for the change.

She said the long travel to Braybrook High School from Avondale Heights was not acceptable and the council should not be advocating kids to be “catapulted across the river”.

Education department spokeswoman Emily Williams said the State Government was in the process of creating a website for parents to check boundaries.