‘Void of support’: Mitchell Shire parents, MPs demand new schools amid looming population boom

Wallan and Beveridge are bracing for a population explosion, but residents say their schools are already at “tipping point” and fear incoming families “won’t be able to fit”.

The Allan government has been accused of neglecting the education of young Victorians in Melbourne’s northern fringes, leaving them “void of support” while on its mission toward housing targets.

The country towns of Wallan and Beveridge, at the tip of the northern growth corridor, will be flipped into housing estates under the government’s newly announced 10-year plan for Melbourne’s greenfields.

The plan is expected to make room for 180,000 new homes statewide over the next 10 years as the government attempts to grapple with the state’s housing crisis.

40,000 of these new homes, or 20 per cent of the entire rollout, will be built in the southern ward of the Mitchell Shire in Wallan and Beveridge.

The Allan government’s greenfields plans will make room for 40,000 new homes in the southern ward of the Mitchell Shire.

Transport experts have already warned that residents could face a “transport nightmare” if the development is not supported by significant investment in road and rail infrastructure.

Now, education experts, members of parliament and residents of the growth area have issued a similar plea, fearing the area could become one of the most “unhealthy, disadvantaged communities” for schoolkids in Victoria under the development “hotchpotch”.

Some fear incoming students “won’t be able to fit” in Wallan and Beveridge’s combined three primary schools and one high school – which residents say are already bursting at the seams – while others say kids will continue being deprived of opportunity in classes due to insufficient resourcing.

“What we’re going to see is that generational disadvantage compounded year after year, because nothing will break,” Member for Eurora Annabelle Cleeland said.

“This idea that education is going to become a postcode lottery is devastating for families who are moving to the regions to seek more affordable housing, only to understand that their children can’t get their public education.”

Member for Euroa Annabelle Cleeland says education could become a ‘postcode lottery’ in Melbourne’s northern fringes. Picture: Zoe Phillips

All four of Wallan and Beveridge’s schools – Beveridge Primary School, Wallan Primary School, Our Lady of the Way Catholic Primary School and Wallan Secondary College – reported substantial growth of at least 22 per cent between 2018 and 2023.

The only private school in the Wallan/Beveridge area, Our Lady of the Way Catholic Primary School, saw enrolment skyrocket by 891 per cent in just five years.

Student numbers jumped from just 62 children in 2018 to 619 last year — making it one of the fastest growing schools in the state.

Meanwhile, more than half of Victorian schools statewide reported a decline in enrolments in the same period.

Student numbers at Our Lady of the Way Catholic Primary School in Wallan skyrocketed almost 900 per cent in five years. Picture: Grace Frost

The education union warned the growth area’s schools were already suffering under the strain of teacher shortages, let alone under the influx of an additional 40,000 households.

“Many areas in Melbourne’s northern growth corridors are already dealing with significant teaching workforce shortages across the early childhood, primary and secondary sectors,” Australian Education Union Victorian Branch President Meredith Peace said.

“Many schools and classrooms are already over capacity and teachers, principals and support staff are going above and beyond to support students, but this is unsustainable.”

Residents demand high school for Kilmore

The sustainability of the area’s sole public high school, Wallan Secondary College, has raised major concerns.

Parents have flagged the school is at full capacity, though Wallan Secondary College did not confirm this to the Herald Sun.

The school had 760 students enrolled in 2023, up from 621 in 2018.

2022 performance results show only 49.5 per cent of year 7 to 10 students at the college were performing at or above expected standards in English, while schools with students of similar socio-economic background averaged 66.4 per cent.

Residents say the lack of options even further north in Kilmore — one of the largest towns in Victoria without a public secondary school — is to blame for the immense pressure on resources in Wallan, as well as further north in Broadford.

Residents say the lack of high schools in the area is putting additional pressure on Wallan Secondary College. Picture: Grace Frost

After the Colmont School – which offered the International Baccalaureate program instead of VCE – fell into administration in 2022, Kilmore was left with a single Catholic high school to accommodate its growing population, Assumption College Kilmore. Fees start at $9515.

“(A secondary school in Kilmore) would take so much pressure off of Wallan Secondary and Broadford Secondary as well as providing an alternative to Assumption College without the need to travel to the next town,” resident Katey Voysey said.

The push for another public school has been long-fought, but so far, has fallen on deaf ears.

Kilmore father Jesse Coombe led a community petition begging the Allan government to purchase the Colmont School when it went up for sale last year, calling it the “solution we’ve all been waiting for”.

He was backed by 3000 residents in his call for the site — already decked out with “comprehensive” facilities to accommodate 450 students, including fully fitted science labs, music, drama and art buildings, two sports fields, tennis courts and a basketball court — to be transformed into a public school.

“My daughter, who’s just 13, leaves the house at 7.30am and gets back around 5pm,” he wrote.

“All this travel means she barely has time left for the fun stuff – like sports, games, or just hanging out.

“As Kilmore’s population keeps growing, we urgently need our own public high school, as all the other high schools have reached tipping point.”

Kilmore’s Colmont School fell into administration in 2022. Picture: Supplied

Despite his calls making headlines across the state, the government refused to purchase the property.

Ms Cleeland condemned the Allan government for its lack of action, and accused parliamentarians of having an “out of sight, out of mind” approach to the northern growth corridor.

“We handed the Allan Labor government a solution on a platter: acquire the former Colmont School and establish a public secondary school that the community could fill immediately,” she said.

“Kilmore is one of the largest towns in Victoria without a public secondary school, yet the government won’t even commit to a business case.

“It’s a government that’s not looking to the regions to support them. It’s looking to the regions to prop up their failures.”

The Colmont School could have been filled ‘immediately’, according to MP Annabelle Cleeland. Picture: Savills

The Colmont School was already decked out with science labs, arts and sporting facilities when it went up for sale. Picture: Savills

The decision fuelled concerns of where the mammoth number of primary-aged students in the area would end up in years to come.

Plans are underway for a new-build secondary school 30 minutes from Kilmore in the Lockerbie PSP in Kalkallo — but the distance from the growth area has failed to alleviate concerns.

The state government maintained it had “invested billions in building and upgrading schools, hospitals and transport infrastructure to deliver better services to some of the fastest growing communities in Melbourne’s north”.

“We have invested a record $16.9 billion over the past decade to build new schools and deliver more than 2,200 school upgrades – ensuring every student has easy access to a meaningful education close to home, no matter where they live,” a government spokesperson said.

‘We won’t be able to fit them in our schools’

It’s not just the lack of secondary options worrying Mitchell Shire families.

A Wallan parent, who wished to remain anonymous, feared primary schools would be forced to turn away children if the government failed to invest in more options before making room for 40,000 new households.

Her children’s school – Our Lady of the Way Catholic Primary School – has seen an additional 600 students since 2018.

Parents are fearing schools in the area will be forced to turn away incoming families due to strain on resources. Picture: Grace Frost

While she expressed gratitude for her children’s “dedicated” teachers who were “doing the very best they can with the resources they have”, she feared new families in the area would be unable to find schooling options for their kids nearby.

“Reality is, we won’t be able to fit (new students) in our schools,” she said.

“There won’t be a school for them to go to.”

All Victorian students are guaranteed entry to their local government school, and the government monitors enrolment and population data as part of its statewide planning for new schools.

In welcome news, the government announced a second public primary school in Wallan with a capacity of 525 students would open its doors in term one, 2026.

Render of exterior of Wallan East Primary School (interim name). Picture: Victorian School Building Authority

Artist renders of the new Wallan East Primary School. Picture: Victorian School Building Authority

But parents have been critical of the approval of its location — deep in the housing estate of Wallara Waters with just one road in and out.

The estate, also home to Our Lady of the Way, already faces bottlenecked traffic during school drop-off and pick-up times.

A second exit to the estate has been flagged for years, but a construction date is still yet to be announced.

“We do need to do something about infrastructure first. They need to think about the people that are living here,” a Wallan parent said.

Ms Cleeland accused the government of leaving Mitchell Shire Council to shoulder its “almost unachievable” housing targets.

“Mitchell Shire is having to achieve a 300 per cent increase in their housing targets in the coming years, at the same time, absolute void of support when it comes to infrastructure to support it,” Ms Cleeland said.

A new school is set to be constructed deep in the housing estate of Wallara Waters, which already faces significant congestion during school times. Picture: Grace Frost

Shadow Minister for Early Childhood and Education Jess Wilson said: “With tens of thousands of new residents expected across Melbourne’s north over coming years, the Allan Labor government must be making investments now so that schools can keep pace with enrolment growth.”

Education Minister Ben Carroll was contacted directly for comments, but did not provide a response.

SRL prioritised ‘over the next generation’

Member for the Northern Metropolitan Region Evan Mulholland accused the Allan government of ripping money intended for the growth area to fund its $216bn Suburban Rail Loop project.

“The government will take the windfall gains tax from all these property owners, stamp duty from sales and the growth area charge,” he said.

“But that’s all going to the Suburban Rail Loop in the eastern suburbs which is costing $216bn, and not actually going back into the communities where it’s collected to invest in the future – the next generation of young Victorians that need a good education,” Mr Mulholland claimed.

Evan Mulholland accused the Allan government of ripping money intended for the northern growth corridor to fund its $216bn Suburban Rail Loop project. Picture: Supplied

He said unless the government committed to immediate investment, the region’s schools would continue to fatigue under a “massive demand issue”, becoming “even more crowded and under-resourced”.

“The government is going to need to cough up some serious plans in regards to school education, kinder, primary and secondary education … so that schools open as people are moving in, not ten years after people are moving in,” he said.