Parents furious with new Scotch College program set to give students ‘two afternoons off’

Disgruntled parents are estimating their kids will spend 16 per cent less time in classroom lessons at one of the state’s most expensive schools under a controversial timetable model.

Scotch College has left parents furious with drastic reduction in number of academic classroom lessons. Picture: AAP Image/Julian Smith

Turmoil is continuing at one of Victoria’s most expensive schools, with parents estimating students will have 16 per cent reduction in classroom lessons a week by 2026.

The drop in formal learning time at Scotch College accounts for $6400 out of the $40,000 annual fees paid by year 12 parents.

The school is pushing ahead with plans for new non-academic programs for Wednesday and Thursday afternoons from 1.50pm to 3.30pm.

Earlier plans to dismiss students at 1.50pm on Wednesdays were unpopular with parents, who started a change.org petition which forced the school to back down.

However, from next year on Thursday afternoons students will take part in a range of “academic, entrepreneurial, life skills, artistic or sporting” activities to “grow our boys”, including some “at no extra cost”.

The scrapped formal learning time accounts for $6400 in school fees at the elite College.

A new “more meaningful service program” will still be implemented from 2026 on Wednesdays.

The school’s new principal Scott Marsh brought in similar changes at his previous school in Sydney, William Clarke College. In 2022, he introduced a stronger focus on self-directed learning and wider elective choices such as oceanography, automotive, cosmetology and robotics.

A staff source at Scotch said Dr Marsh, who started at the 170-year-old school in 2023, “was trying to make a name for himself, and making too many quick changes, without watching and waiting to see what is truly required”.

Scotch College is holding parent information sessions on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday to discuss the new timetable reforms.

One parent said there are still “a lot of disgruntled parents out there”.

“I don’t see why my child should have two afternoons off which is a 16 per cent reduction in learning time by 2026,” they said.

Staff are also unhappy, with dissatisfaction reaching a decade-long high in 2023 after Dr Marsh arrived.

One staff source said they were being subjected to a 20 per cent increase in yard duties and longer after-school duties for all and a formal reduction to one sport for full-time teachers.

PE and Christian Education staff levels have been “decimated” by a drop by up to 50 per cent in their subjects.

Dr Marsh has publicly said that 85 per cent of staff welcomed the timetable changes.

However, staff have told the Herald Sun the survey sent out by the school was not representative because they could not be assured of confidentiality. The survey, seen by the Herald Sun, asks staff how they long have been at the school and what area they work in which another one teacher said “identifies the deidentified”.

Scotch staff are unhappy with the school's survey.

Teachers fear the questions in the "anonymous" survey would lead to them being identified.

A spokesman for the Independent Education Union said it will be “meeting and surveying its members this week in order to present comprehensive feedback about staff concerns to the school”.

A spokeswoman for Scotch College said parents “can be reassured that under the new timetable we will maintain classroom time while increasing focus on core subjects, and we look forward to sharing more about these important reforms at the information sessions this week”.

It comes as members of the school community are coping with the loss of two teachers in recent weeks: piano teacher Lachlan Redd and long-serving junior school educator Phil Richards.