- Carlo Carli MP, addressing Parliament, calls on Minister for Education to admit Brunswick Secondary College to Building Futures
- Need to expand Brunswick Secondary College to 1000 students
- Primary school enrolment boom in Brunswick - up 190 kids in five years
Mr CARLI (Brunswick) — I raise a matter for the attention of the Minister for Education. The Minister for Education is very familiar with the Brunswick Secondary College, because before 2002 the school was in her electorate. It has been apparent for quite some time now that Brunswick Secondary College, with its enrolment capped at 850 students, is not able to respond to the current boom in education in the Brunswick-Coburg area. In Brunswick there has been a massive increase in the numbers of kids going to primary schools; in fact over the past five years there have been 190 extra enrolments in five primary schools in Brunswick.
The school community is seeking to raise the enrolment ceiling to 1000 students, which would involve investment in buildings, facilities, teachers and support staff. I am asking the Minister for Education to invite Brunswick Secondary College into the Building Futures program so that we can begin the planning work for new building and new investment to raise the enrolment ceiling from 850 to 1000 students.
This is important and especially significant this year when there has been an increase in the choices in what is offered in the curriculum at Brunswick Secondary College. VET (vocational education and training) has been introduced this year, and next year there will be a VCAL (Victorian Certificate of Applied Learning) program, so the school is looking at providing more opportunities in curriculum. It has a very strong VCE (Victorian certificate of education) program, and obviously VET, and VCAL will now be added to it.
There is a strong drive in the local community and the school to see the expansion in enrolment numbers. The school is doing extremely well, as is public education generally in Brunswick at the moment. The school has children from Brunswick, Coburg and Pascoe Vale, and it is very important that those areas be serviced and that their students be provided with a college that meets their needs. This would be a very important addition to education in the northern suburbs of Melbourne.
As I have indicated, Brunswick college is doing extremely well. A decade ago it had many difficulties, but today it has hit its ceiling, as it is full, with 850 children. It can clearly expand — it has the land and opportunities to expand to 1000 students. I therefore call on the minister to begin the process and to invite the school into the Building Futures program so that we can begin the planning work and realise what will be a really important improvement to public education in the Brunswick-Coburg area.
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