Victorian Coalition pledges more select-entry high schools if elected

Victorian Coalition pledges more select-entry schools if elected In short: The Victorian Coalition has pledged to establish three select-entry high schools in Melbourne’s expanding outer suburbs if it wins the November state election. Victoria currently has four fully selective secondary schools but Opposition Leader Jess Wilson says there is growing demand for more academic achiever colleges. What's next? Victorians go to the polls on November 28 in the first electoral test for both Premier Ben Carroll and Ms Wilson as their respective party leaders. Three select-entry high schools would be built in Melbourne's rapidly expanding outer suburbs by 2030 under a Victorian Coalition government if elected in November. A further six existing schools would be converted to focus on academic achievers as part of the Coalition policy, which would likely double the number of selective places available to high-performing students. The Victorian Coalition has pledged to buy land in Melbourne's three fastest-growing regions to construct the academic achiever colleges. In the western suburbs, a school would be built in either Melton, Caroline Springs or Sydenham while in the northern suburbs, a college would be established in Craigieburn or Roxburgh Park. Langwarrin or Cranbourne South have been identified by the Coalition as potential locations in the south-east. Victoria currently has four select-entry schools but Opposition Leader Jess Wilson said demand was outstripping supply with some of the state's best and brightest students missing out on academically tailored tuition. "Thousands of students sit the select-entry school exam every year and too many of them are missing out because there are not enough places,"the Victorian Coalition leader said. "A government I lead will expand opportunities for students and parents from across Victoria to access select-entry schools." Victoria has four fully selective secondary colleges: Melbourne High School in South Yarra, Mac.Robertson Girls' High School in Albert Park, Nossal High School in Berwick and Suzanne Cory High School in Werribee. Melbourne High and Mac.Robertson Girls' High were Victoria's original two select-entry schools, with prospective students required to undertake a three-hour-long uniform entrance examination, testing their competency in literacy and numeracy, among other areas. During the 2006 Victorian state election, both the Bracks Labor government and Baillieu Coalition opposition pledged new select-entry schools and two were eventually constructed in Melbourne's outer suburbs. Named after research biologist Sir Gustav Nossal, Berwick's Nossal High School opened in Melbourne's south-east in 2010 while Werribee's Suzanne Cory High School, named after an eminent molecular biologist, opened in 2011 to cater for students in Melbourne's western suburbs. South-eastern Melbourne also boasts the John Monash Science School in Clayton, which operates its own entrance exam and separate entry criteria. Ms Wilson said too many Victorian students are denied places compared to New South Wales, where there are 21 fully selective schools and a further 26 institutions that are partially selective, which receive local students alongside high-performing students who can access advanced classes. Opposition education spokesman Brad Rowswell said select entry schools gave Victorian students the opportunity to excel within the government school system, regardless of their postcode. "I want every Victorian student to have the opportunity to succeed at school; to thrive and achieve their full potential," he said. "Selection to these schools must be accessible and not based on postcode. The entry system for these schools will be a level playing field, offering the opportunity to more students than ever before. "The establishment of these schools will help to strengthen Victoria's state education system, giving students more opportunities to achieve their full potential and offering parents greater school choice." The Coalition announcement comes as the Victorian election campaign edges closer, with Premier Ben Carroll also pledging over the weekend that a re-elected Labor government would legislate tougher penalties for rapists, sex offenders and family violence perpetrators.