Exposing the southeast Melbourne schools with the highest and lowest enrolments

New government data reveals the southeast Melbourne schools attracting the highest levels of enrolment and the ones declining in numbers.

Beaumaris Secondary College school leaders. Picture: Penny Stephens

The fastest growing schools across southeast Melbourne have been announced, exposing where student numbers have rapidly increased and where they’ve bottomed out.

Beaumaris Secondary College comes out on top as the southeast Melbourne school attracting the most students.

Year 7 student leader Oskar Edwardes said the opportunities for student involvement had been amazing.

“From uniforms, school formals and even curriculum, students really get an input into what happens at the school,” Oscar said.

“My family has been here from the start. It’s great because my sister was a part of the foundation grade and they’ll be graduating next year.”

When Year 11 student leader Eadie Whitelead moved from the UK in 2017, she said Beaumaris Secondary College was the clear choice.

“The learning seemed to be based on real world application. We pretty much did a school tour and signed up on the spot,” Eadie said.

“The specialised subjects they offered throughout years 9 and 10 really set me up for the VCE. I took one course about crime scene investigations and went onto study psychology this year.”

Principal Debby Chaves said she credited the colleges success to the teaching style and community trust.

“The Bayside area has outstanding schools and it’s wonderful to see out of all the options people are choosing us,” Mrs Chaves said.

“Students are active contributors to their education. That’s the way we do it and that’s the way it should be.”

Federal government data – which tracked the student numbers of every southeast Melbourne school over the past five years – revealed the schools’ reeling in enrolments.

Beaumaris Secondary College enrolment increased by 457 per cent in the five years from 2018 to 2022.

Mrs Chaves said despite being “a relatively new school in an established area” their commitment to providing government education has helped them stand out.

“Parents trust us and have confidence that we are the right school for their kids,” she said.

Le Page Primary School at Cheltenham came in second with a 271 per cent increase. From a small school of 19 students and one teacher in 2017, under principal George Danson they’ve grown to a cohort of 250.

Harkaway Hills College at Narre Warren North recorded the third biggest 241 per cent increase.

On the other end of the spectrum, the school suffering from the largest enrolment decline at 47 per cent was Ballam Park Primary School at Frankston.

St Mary’s School in St Kilda East saw a 38 per cent drop in enrolment, while Somerville Rise Primary School had a 36 per cent decline.

The Australian Curriculum, Assessment and Reporting Authority figures are the most up to date enrolment numbers that include all state and private schools nationally.