Wyndham City mayor Susan McIntyre fears the municipality will not have enough schools to meet population boom

Melbourne’s growing western suburbs face a drastic lack of schools as the population is expected to blow out to 500,000 by 2041.

There are fears one of Melbourne’s fastest growing municipalities may not have enough schools to cater for students with its population expected to hit half a million by 2041.

Wyndham Mayor Susan McIntyre is calling on the state government to fast-track more schools for the western suburbs municipality, which has 983 students per government school — the highest student per school rate in the state.

Wyndham is home to 300,000 people — about 30,000 more than Geelong — and is the second-biggest LGA in the state behind Casey.

Cr McIntyre said on existing trends, Wyndham would have a shortfall of six schools by 2031, blowing out to 16 by 2041.

“Children in Wyndham have the same right to access education, and yet children in Wyndham’s growth areas have access to around half the number of primary and secondary schools compared to Greater Melbourne,” she said.

“We urgently need to address this shortfall. More investment is needed, including a longer term plan to ensure the education needs of Wyndham families can be met now and into the future.”

Four new schools have opened in Wyndham 2023, including Ngarri Primary School in Manors Lake which had 259 students turn up on the first day.

Another seven are planned to open in 2024, but Cr McIntyre said it was not enough to deal with projected growth.

Among the items on council’s wishlist is for a school provision plan to be developed for the municipality and for more high school and specialist schools to be added.

An advocacy campaign for more schools called schools4wyndham has been launched online.

The Wyndham suburb most desperate for a primary school is Williams Landing, which is home to more than 1000 primary school aged children.

An online petition for a P-12 school to be built was created in 2014 and has received 1200 signatures.

Former Wyndham councillor and Williams Landing resident Aaron An agreed more schools in Wyndham need to be a priority.

“We have been campaigning for a new school in Williams Landing since 2014. If you look at the number of students and also the number of schools in Wyndham, we are very far behind,” he said.

A government spokesman said: “We’re ahead of schedule in opening 100 new schools by 2026, with 75 new schools opening between 2019 and 2024 — ensuring every student can access a great local school no matter where they live.” “It includes opening 21 new schools in Wyndham — the most of any LGA in the state — to give local students the learning spaces and facilities they need and deserve to thrive at school and in life.”

Member for Laverton, Sarah Connolly, said she meets regularly with Wyndham Council about addressing the community’s need for more schools.

“Our Government’s record of delivering schools for Wyndham shows that we are in fact addressing the Wyndham community’s need for additional schools,” she said.

“From 2018-2021, seven new schools were built and opened in Wyndham. Another four new primary schools have just opened their doors this month, with another seven opening in 2024, including at least three new high schools across Truganina, Tarneit and Werribee, as well as a new specialist school in Werribee.

“The Department of Education already has processes in place to determine where new schools will be needed and when. They have also been proven to be responsive to additional needs when they arise, such as with purchasing land in Truganina, that would otherwise have become more housing, to build an Education Precinct that will now include a primary school, secondary school campus and kindergarten all opening next year.

“Of the 100 schools that the Andrews Government has committed to building between 2019 and 2026, at least 20 of them – a full fifth – will be built in Wyndham alone. We are receiving more schools than any other Local Government Area. Over $780 million has been invested into Wyndham schools since the Andrews Government was first elected in 2014.

“ Of all the schools that Wyndham City Council’s Schools For Wyndham campaign said we needed by 2029, all of them have or will be delivered within the next few years. Several of our secondary schools have received millions of dollars in upgrades, including Tarneit Senior College, to address capacity issues and deliver modern learning facilities for students in Wyndham. And every single specialist school in our state is receiving much needed upgrades, including the ones in Wyndham. Based on this record, I am confident that the Andrews Government will continue to deliver record investment into Wyndham Schools so that our kids can receive the world-class education that they deserve.”