Parkwood Secondary College

Parkwood Secondary College (PSC) was a co-educational public secondary school located in the Melbourne, Victoria, Australia suburb of Ringwood North. The school was founded in 1979 as Parkwood High School, and closed at the end of the 2012 school year.[2] In 2014, the land and buildings were re-opened as the North Ringwood Community House.

Parkwood Secondary College
Location
Ringwood North
,
Victoria

Australia
Coordinates37.7841°S 145.2414°E / -37.7841; 145.2414
Information
TypePublic
MottoValues, Choices, Leadership, and Excellence[1]
Established1979
StatusClosed
ClosedDecember 2012
PrincipalBarbara Laidlaw
Staff35
Enrolment306 (2012)
CampusSuburban
Colour(s)Blue, maroon, white
Websitewww.parkwood.vic.edu.au (archived 21 June 2012)

The school provided high school education for Years 7 through 12, with Year 11 and 12 students undertaking the Victorian Certificate of Education. It formerly offered a range of VCE subjects as well as the Victorian Certificate of Applied Learning program.[3]

Proposed merger

In 2008, the then Labor state government announced a $100 million pledge to seven Victorian secondary schools.[4] This resulted in cursory plans in 2009 to merge Parkwood Secondary College with the nearby Norwood Secondary College.[5][6] Several years passed with no action, and after a change in government, the community was uncertain whether the new Liberal government would continue the plan to merge the schools.[7]

On 1 March 2012, the principal Barbara Laidlaw announced that the merger would not proceed, stating that the school had "a strong and dynamic future".[8]

Closure

On 30 July 2012, the school council of Parkwood Secondary College announced its intention to close the school at the end of the year due to falling enrolments.[9][10] This announcement came five months after the confirmation that Parkwood would continue indefinitely.[11] There were 306 students enrolled at the school in its final year of operation.[10] After the closure, many of the college's students moved to either Norwood Secondary College or the newly merged Melba College.[12] Some students of the school posted pictures, videos, and messages on a Facebook page in its memory.[13][14]

Current use of site

In October 2013, Maroondah City Council announced its intention to re-open the site of Parkwood Secondary College as a Community House and Men's Shed.[15] The site had been dormant for nearly 2 years and had become a target of vandals, so significant works were undertaken including the removal of graffiti and vandalism.[16][17] Since its re-opening in 2014, the site now serves as the North Ringwood Community House, which was previously located at the rear of the Holy Spirit Primary School in Ringwood North.[18][19]

References
  1. "College Vision". Parkwood Secondary College. Archived from the original on 20 March 2012. Retrieved 14 July 2019.
  2. Monash University; The University of Queensland (2015). "Ringwood North". Victorian Places. Retrieved 16 July 2019.
  3. "2010 Annual Report to the School Community: Parkwood Secondary College" (PDF). Department of Education and Early Childhood Development. 2011. Archived from the original (PDF) on 20 March 2012. Retrieved 14 July 2019.
  4. Collier, Karen (30 June 2008). "Mergers on the cards for schools". Herald Sun. News Corp Australia. Retrieved 13 July 2019.
  5. Topsfield, Jewel (30 November 2010). "Long-promised school mergers await action".
  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. Topsfield, Jewel (1 August 2012). "Parents cross at being left out of loop". The Age. Fairfax media. Retrieved 13 July 2019.
  8. Ferdinands, Johann; Laidlaw, Barbara (1 March 2012). "Letter to Parkwood Secondary College Community" (PDF). p. 3. Archived from the original (PDF) on 20 March 2012.
  9. Barry, Evonne (30 July 2012). "Students in limbo as school votes to shut". Herald Sun. News Corp Australia. Retrieved 20 July 2016.
  10. Topsfield, Jewel; Preiss, Benjamin (31 July 2012). "Low enrolments force Ringwood school closure". The Sydney Morning Herald. Fairfax Media. Retrieved 13 July 2019.
  11. "'No decision yet' on Parkwood College". ABC News. 31 July 2012. Retrieved 13 July 2019.
  12. Ainsworth, Michelle (31 July 2012). "Parents angry as Parkwood Secondary College in Ringwood North is set to close". Herald Sun. News Corp Australia. Retrieved 13 July 2019.
  13. "Parkwood Secondary Memes". Facebook. Retrieved 20 July 2016.
  14. Hastings, Emma (2012). "Old school ties forged on internet". Maroondah Leader. News Corp Australia. p. 10.
  15. "Our New Home - North Ringwood Community House". nrch.org.au. 30 October 2013. Retrieved 20 July 2016.
  16. "Another Melbourne school bites the dust". Kitten of Doom. 10 July 2014. Retrieved 20 July 2016.
  17. Thomas, O'Byrne (9 April 2014). "Maroondah Council and Education Department continue talks while vandals prey on former Parkwood secondary college site in Ringwood North". Maroondah Leader. News Corp Australia. Retrieved 20 July 2016.
  18. "Moving house". Maroondah in Focus (Dec 2013 ed.). Maroondah City Council. 19 December 2013. Retrieved 20 July 2016.
  19. "Home - North Ringwood Community House". Archived from the original on 28 December 2009. Retrieved 14 July 2019.
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