By Charlene Gatt
A SEVEN per cent increase in enrolments at the Catholic Regional College’s Sydenham Campus reflect the move away from government to private schools.
Last week’s Australian Bureau of Statistics Schools Australia report showed that Catholic and independent schools had recorded an influx of students in the past decade.
Victoria boasts the second highest share of students leaving government schools, with more than 35 per cent of the state’s 836,991 students attending either Catholic or independent schools.
The figures mark a 21.9 per cent increase in private school enrolments since 1997.
In Brimbank, 27 of the municipality’s 69 schools are privately funded.
The Catholic Regional College’s Sydenham campus has 60 more students enrolled than it did in 2007, a trend principal Brendan Watson attributes to the new housing estates in the area.
“There’s certainly been a marked increase in this year’s enrolments and numbers have been growing over the past couple of years. There’s certainly a growth corridor in the region we’re in and … a very strong federation of catholic schools and the five schools work very closely together to provide that education from seven to 12. CRC Sydenham being a specialist senior school can provide facilities that are specialised for the VCE,” he said.
But sending a child to the college isn’t cheap, with school fees averaging $3000 a year plus the cost of the uniform, excursions and additional fees.
Janet Dillon, a parent whose daughter Tara is completing her final year at the college, said the school’s teachers and hard line approach to values was money well spent.
Mrs Dillon also sent sons Ben, 25, and Aaron, 22, through the private school system.
“I’ve just found the discipline, uniform policy, smaller class sizes and staff values are really, really good,” she said.
“The bullying policy is wonderful. (Both) CRC North Keilor and CRC Sydenham stamp it out before it becomes a headache, which is a really good thing. I’ve got lots of friends through the state school system and their kids get bullied and bullied and to me that’s the pits.”
Nicolette Milroy, whose daughters Laura, Year 12, and Kirsty, Year 11, also attend the college, agrees.
“I believe that there’s more respect between the teachers and the students. I believe that the curriculum is far better in the private system, and I just think that if you can give them that good start then they’ve got a better chance of getting to where they want to be,” she said.
