Melba College

Melba Secondary College is a secondary school in Croydon, an eastern suburb of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. Melba has a student population of approximately 560 students. The school's main campus is on Brentnall Road in Croydon.[3]

Melba College
Address
Melba College
Brentnall Road

Croydon
,
Victoria

Australia
Coordinates37°47′45.953″S 145°15′41.219″E
Information
TypePublic mixed-sex secondary school
Founded1 January 2012 (as Croydon Maroondah College)
Opened1 January 2013
StatusOpen
PrincipalAaron Sykes[1]
Staff88[2] (2019)
QualificationsVictorian Certificate of Education (VCE), Victorian Certificate of Applied Learning (VCAL)[3]
Years offered7-12
Enrolment565[2] (2019)
Campus typeSuburban
HousesBlue gum (blue)
Waratah (red)
Wattle (yellow)
Banksia (green)[4]
Colour(s)     Eucalyptus green
     Terracotta
     Charcoal[4]
Websitemelba.vic.edu.au

History

During mid-2009, a merger of Maroondah and Croydon Secondary Colleges was proposed, following the goal of the Maroondah Education Coalition to improve secondary education.[5][6] Despite poor community feedback around the merger, plans and a site study were completed to build a new school on the site of Maroondah Secondary College (the current Brentnall Road campus). The project was not funded in the 2010/2011 Victorian State Budget.

Despite the project's lack of funding, Croydon Secondary College and Maroondah Secondary College ceased operations as individual schools at the end of the 2011 school year. They merged under the temporary name Croydon Maroondah Secondary College for the start of the 2012 school year but continued operating at their respective campuses.[7][8]

Melba Secondary College was then officially established with the Victorian Department of Education in January 2013. The founding principal was Terry Bennett, formerly the principal of Maroondah Secondary College, and also the principal of the temporary Croydon Maroondah Secondary College.[4][9] The merger also attracted some students from the nearby Parkwood Secondary College which was closed at the end of the 2012 school year, although Parkwood was not officially involved in the merger.

Between 2013 and 2017, the old Croydon Secondary College site on Croydon Road served as the Junior Campus and the Maroondah Secondary College site on Brentnall Road was the Senior Campus.[10]

Building works

Croydon and Maroondah Secondary Colleges were part of the Maroondah Education Coalition which was promised $100 million for redevelopment of school buildings by the then Labor state government, prior to the 2010 state election.[11] The Labor government lost the 2010 election and the funding was not received, so the individual schools had no major upgrades until after the merger.

Prior to the 2014 state election, Melba College was promised $10 million for building upgrades by both major political parties.[10] The school was then listed for building upgrades in the 2015/2016 Victorian State Budget as part of a $217 million statewide school upgrades project,[12] and was provided $500,000 for planning.[13] The proposed upgrade included an $18.4 million campus overhaul and constituted part of the Maroondah Education Plan. A further grant of $17.9 million was provided to the school in the 2016/2017 Victorian Budget.[14]

The first stage of the school upgrade commenced in July 2015 and was completed in May 2018, based off recommendations from the study conducted in 2010.[10][2] The new buildings were awarded Best School Project Above $5 million in the 2018 Victorian School Design Awards.[15] With the first stage complete, the Junior Campus on the former Croydon Secondary College site was closed in late 2017. All students now study on the Brentnall Road campus, the former site of Maroondah Secondary College. Funding for Stage 2 of the building project was provided in the 2018/2019 Victorian State Budget, and this project is due for completion in July 2020.[2]

Programs

The school competes within the School Sport Victoria (SSV) Maroondah Division, Eastern Metropolitan Region and State Levels for sporting events and carnivals such as athletics, swimming, cross-country and team sports.[16]

The school has a comprehensive music program, with its school band participating in Melbourne's Anzac Day Parade annually.[17]

Name

Melba Secondary College is named after Australia opera soprano Nellie Melba.[4] The community was consulted for suggestions of names for the new school.[9] The name Melba College is often used as an abbreviation.

Notable alumni
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References
  1. "Principal's Message". Melba College. Retrieved 14 July 2019.
  2. Melba Secondary College (May 2019). "2018 Annual Report to the School Community" (PDF). Victoria State Government Department of Education and Training. Retrieved 14 July 2019.
  3. Melba Secondary College (2018). "2017 Annual Report to the School Community" (PDF). Victorian Registration & Qualifications Authority. Victoria State Government Department of Education and Training.
  4. "History". Melba College. Retrieved 13 July 2019.
  5. "Croydon Maroondah Regeneration Project". Y2 Architects. Archived from the original on 24 August 2014. Retrieved 13 July 2019.
  6. Campbell, Shaun (16 June 2009). "Educational nirvana". Maroondah Leader. News Corp Australia. Under the Maroondah Education Coalition's "concept" plan, Norwood and Parkwood Secondary Schools would merge at the Parkwood site and Croydon Secondary School students would take up residence at Maroondah Secondary College.
  7. Hall, Cheryl (2 March 2012). "Closing the gap – public and private schools". 7.30 Victoria. Retrieved 13 July 2019.
  8. "School Council" (PDF). Croydon Maroondah College Newsletter. 9 March 2012. Archived from the original (PDF) on 24 March 2012. Retrieved 14 July 2019. The new school has been registered under the interim name of Croydon Maroondah College and a new interim logo was also tabled at the meeting.
  9. "New school name and logo" (PDF). Croydon Maroondah College Newsletter. 23 March 2012. Archived from the original (PDF) on 24 March 2012. Retrieved 14 July 2019.
  10. Melba Secondary College (27 July 2015). "Community Meeting: Melba College Rebuild". Google Slides. Retrieved 13 July 2019.
  11. Hadfield, Shelley (4 February 2013). "Run-down Melba College must be rebuilt, principal says". Herald Sun. News Corp Australia. Retrieved 14 July 2019.
  12. State of Victoria (Department of Treasury and Finance) (2015). "2015/16 State Budget For Families: Suburban Growth Budget Information Paper" (PDF): 3. ISBN 978-1-922222-53-4. Archived from the original (PDF) on 25 February 2017. Retrieved 2 July 2015. Lay summary. Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
  13. "Melba Secondary College". Victorian School Building Authority. Retrieved 14 July 2019.
  14. Merlino, James (25 November 2016). "Building The Education State In Croydon" (PDF). Premier of Victoria. Retrieved 14 July 2019.
  15. "2018 Victorian School Design Awards Winners". Victoria State Government Department of Education and training. 17 December 2018. Archived from the original on 30 March 2019. Retrieved 14 July 2019.
  16. "Sport". Melba College. Retrieved 14 July 2019. The college is affiliated with School Sport Victoria (SSV). At Maroondah Division level...
  17. "Instrumental Music/Band Program". Melba College. Retrieved 14 July 2019. Melba College music students routinely perform [...] in the annual ANZAC Day Parade in the CBD
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