About
High School for Preston is a grassroots campaign to establish an open entry co-educational high school in Preston to provide quality public education.
Mission
To establish an open entry co-educational high school in Preston to provide quality public education for children in the Preston region.
Description
Preston is one of the largest suburbs in Melbourne, with a population of over 30,000 residents covering a land area of 12 square kilometres. The presence of key infrastructure services and significant new housing redevelopments, together with the influx of families forced out of the inner north seeking affordable housing, means the population of Preston is steadily growing and will increase significantly in the next few decades.
Demographic forecasting indicates that Preston will experience a 21.7% increase in the number of secondary school age children by 2021, and an increase of 42.3% by 2031. It is estimated there will be over 2,050 secondary school age children in Preston by 2021, and roughly 2,400 children in that age group by 2031. These children will need a secondary school.
School Site
The former site of Preston Girls' Secondary College would be a perfect site for a future Preston High. Why:
Demographic forecasting indicates that Preston will experience a 21.7% increase in the number of secondary school age children by 2021, and an increase of 42.3% by 2031. It is estimated there will be over 2,050 secondary school age children in Preston by 2021, and roughly 2,400 children in that age group by 2031. These children will need a secondary school.
School Site
When Preston Girls' Secondary College was closed in 2013, the Government was urged to retain the site for future education purposes. In June 2014 the Department of Education, recommended not selling off the Preston Girls College site following demographic analysis of the Preston area. See our Campaign History page for correspondence we've received from the Department of Education and Early Childhood Development.
The former site of Preston Girls' Secondary College would be a perfect site for a future Preston High. Why:
(1) It is in central Preston and highly accessible by public transport. This means our kids can safely get to high school independently and our local streets will be less congested.
(2) Existing school buildings mean it is a suitable and cost-effective option for a future school.
(3) It sits across from the Preston Library.
The following map shows the three different school zones that Preston (the green rectangle) is split into and how perfectly located the Cooma St site is for a high school which would unite all of Preston's kids. (2) Existing school buildings mean it is a suitable and cost-effective option for a future school.
(3) It sits across from the Preston Library.
