The Victorian Government made a commitment to deliver 100 new schools between 2019 and 2026. This school, to open in 2021, is part of that commitment.
We are building a new school facility on a new site for Oberon High School, with new, modern buildings that will cater for more students in the southern Geelong area.
Oberon High School will relocate on day one, Term 1, 2021 to the new site, which is located at 155-175 Batten Road, Armstrong Creek next to the Armstrong Creek School, a combined primary and specialist school.
Oberon High School's name, culture and history continues on the new site. The move will provide Oberon students and teachers with better facilities designed for modern education.
The new school site will help alleviate enrolment pressures for surrounding schools and ensure that there are sufficient high-quality secondary school places to cater for local population growth.
The 2016-17 State Budget provided $2.5 million to upgrade Oberon High School, so we're reassessing how to best use this funding in light of the relocation. We will still complete any maintenance required for the school to operate at its existing site until the relocation. We're using the later funding to build the new Batten Road campus.
provison review
The review examined enrolment demand for local government secondary schools and if they have sufficient space to cater for future enrolments across the south of Geelong, including the capacity to meet extra demand expected to come from nearby Armstrong Creek.
To meet this increased demand the review recommended that the government either:
relocate Oberon High School to the Armstrong Creek education precinct by 2021 and build a second secondary school in Armstrong Creek by 2036, or
build two new secondary schools in Armstrong Creek area, by 2026 and 2036.
The Community Reference Group involved in the review strongly supports relocating Oberon High School.
Planning Committee
Oberon High School's school leadership team, school council and student leadership team will form a planning committee with staff from the Department of Education and Training (DET) Regional Office.
This committee will ensure that decisions about the school's relocation, are considered with adequate care and input from all areas of the school community. The school leadership team will keep the broader school community informed and updated throughout the relocation process.
Transport
Oberon High School is serviced by the school bus program and Public Transport Victoria (PTV) buses.
The planning committee will work with DET and PTV to identify opportunities to alter services or plan new services to meet the needs of families at the new campus.
Students may be eligible for help via these transport programs:
Uniform
The school has not yet made a decision about a new uniform.
The planning committee will consider this decision after consulting with the school community. They will take into account that Oberon High School recently updated its uniform, and seek to minimise the financial burden on families and students who choose to attend Armstrong Creek Secondary College.
School Design Awards
This school, designed by Architectus and K2LD as part of the Growth Areas Schools Project, was a winner of the 'Minister's Award for Excellence' in the 2019 Victorian School Design Awards.