- Published:
- Thursday 15 February 2018
The Andrews Labor Government is getting on with plans to transform secondary education across Shepparton and Mooroopna by giving future VCE students a greater choice of subjects.
Minister for Education James Merlino today announced plans to expand the VCE curriculum available to Shepparton’s students as part of the merger of the current four schools into a better-resourced single secondary school campus.
Out of 90 VCE subjects, none of the Shepparton and Mooroopna schools are offering more than 51. For too long local secondary schools have not had sufficient numbers to offer subjects such as: Agriculture and Horticulture; Australian and Global Politics; Australian History; Geography; Industry and Enterprise; and Specialist Maths.
The merger of the four schools will provide a larger student body who will have access to the full breadth of the senior secondary curriculum, including both VCE and VCAL curriculum. This will include a strong focus on vocational pathways in modern, state-of-the-art facilities.
The new secondary school is part of the first stage of the Shepparton Education Plan – a long-term plan to help young people in the area get the best possible start in life.
The Shepparton Education Plan Advisory Committee considered feedback from the school communities, working groups, education experts and community members before recommending merging Shepparton High School, McGuire College, Mooroopna Secondary College and Wanganui Park Secondary College into one new school.
To be located in Shepparton, the new secondary school will be broken up into smaller schools or ‘houses’ to create smaller learning communities. This will give students and teachers all the resources and broad curriculum benefits of a large school, while operating in a caring, supportive environment.
Mr Merlino also announced the release of the tender to appoint an architect to design the new one-campus secondary school in Shepparton. An initial $1 million was allocated in the Victorian Budget 2017/18 for community consultation and future architectural planning for the school.
The architect chosen will work closely with students, teachers and the wider community to gain their input for the design of the new school, which will have buildings and resources designed to meet the needs of students.
For more information on the Shepparton Education Plan go to www.engage.vic.gov.au/SheppartonEducationPlan
Quotes attributable to Minister for Education James Merlino
“We want local students to have access to a full breadth of VCE curriculum and it is time these classes are available to Shepparton and Mooroopna students.”
“The Shepparton Education Plan is the community’s long-term vision for the area to ensure every student can have access to a great education and we are getting on with making it a reality.”
Quote attributable to Member for Northern Victoria Mark Gepp
“We want every student to have the best chance to success in life and the Shepparton Education Plan will deliver just that.”