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Triplets among 70,000 preps starting school today

Thursday, 02 February 2012

The first day of school is as easy as eins, zwei, drei for triplets starting prep at Bayswater South Primary School where they will participate in the school's German Bilingual Program.

The triplets are among 70,000 preps due to begin school life at schools across the state, with 46,800 of those starting at a government school.

Education Minister Martin Dixon will visit Bayswater South Primary School this morning to wish the triplets good luck on their first day.

"Starting school is one of those special times in life, both for the students and their proud parents," Mr Dixon said.

"These children are embarking on an education journey that they will continue for the rest of their lives."

Bayswater South Primary School is one of 12 government schools in Victoria that has a bilingual program where students are taught in both English and another language - in this case German.

Mr Dixon said the Victorian Coalition Government's long term vision was for all students from Prep – Year 10 to be learning a language by 2025, starting with all Preps learning a language in 2015.

The move is part of the government's long term strategy to ensure the state's education system is ranked among the best in the world and to enhance Victoria's economic competitiveness in an increasingly global market.

"To help achieve our goal, the government will be offering Languages Teaching Scholarships to teachers and undergraduate students who want to become languages teachers so that more qualified languages teachers are available to schools," Mr Dixon said.

"Learning a second language has a range of benefits, it improves students' first language, helps develop problem-solving skills and opens up a world of possibilities for understanding and interacting with other cultures."

Minister responsible for the Teaching Profession Peter Hall has also welcomed the state's teachers back from their well-deserved break, including around 2,500 new graduate teachers who will take up posts in Victorian government schools for the start of the 2012 school year.

In 2012:

• 866,000 students will attend a Victorian school
• 543,600 students will attend a government school
• 475,300 primary and 390,800 secondary students will attend school
• 70,000 preps are enrolled, with 46,800 in government schools
• 65,900 year 7 students are enrolled, including 36,200 in government schools
• There are 1,539 government schools, including 1,138 primary schools, 247 secondary schools, 74 primary-secondary schools, 76 special schools and four English language schools
• There are 34,600 primary teachers and 37,500 secondary teachers, including 22,200 primary teachers and 19,790 secondary teachers at government schools

*These figures are based on projections

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