High schools to form a 'collegiate'

The Minister for Education has announced that Woy Woy and Umina High Schools will be joining together to form a new school or "collegiate".

This is based upon the consultation that occurred over late 1999 and early 2000.

The Central Coast Secondary Principals' Council had also recommended this action as a result of analysing the submissions that were lodged with the District Office in June 2000.

The schools in the north-eastern part of our District will also form a collegiate, The Entrance, Berkeley Vale Community and Tumbi Umbi High Schools.

The principals have also recommended that all other Central Coast government schools form collegiates in five groupings overall over the next few years.

In announcing our collegiate, the Minister has allowed a further three months consultation period.

This is to enable the structure of the collegiate to be determined, particularly which years will receive their education on each site.

The Peninsula collegiate is the first one to have only two schools involved.

This together with the variation in the size of each site - Woy Woy can accommodate a little over 800 students and Umina can accommodate about 1100 - makes it different from other collegiates where three or four schools are involved.

It also enables us to determine what capital works and other major funding expenditures will be required to provide top class facilities at both sites.

Mr Pat Lewis, Principal of Umina High School, has been appointed the Project Officer for the consultation and Mr Gasper, Deputy Principal of Umina High School, will be the Relieving Principal at Umina in the meantime.

Mr Lewis has attended a Woy Woy High School P & C meeting and answered questions and provided information about the process.

He indicated that of the 11 submissions received from the Peninsula in June 2000, eight put forward the ideas of Years 7-10 and Years 11-12.

Only one submission requested the status quo.

There was a difficulty in establishing Year 5-8 schools immediately because of the different working conditions that existed for primary and secondary teachers.

However this was an issue that needed to be explored.

There was certainly a possibility that some arrangements or negotiations could be made to have some Year 6 teachers and students involved in middle school from the beginning.

The consultation period was to sort out what was the best combination.

The only students who will be affected in 2002 will be those who are currently in Years 10 and 6.

Just exactly which site these students will be going to for their further secondary education will be determined in the consultation phase.

It is therefore important that this decision is made as quickly as possible so that these students know where they stand.

The establishment of a collegiate has an enormous impact upon staff.

This has been recognised by the NSW Teacher's Federation and the Department of Education and Training reaching a memorandum of understanding on this issue.

This memorandum outlines the procedures to be set in place in relation to staff in the establishment of a collegiate.

Staff are assured that procedures will be followed so that their professional needs are met.

Any change brings sadness for what is lost.

It also brings new opportunities and excitement for what is gained.

It is up to all of us to celebrate the great schools over the past 40 years, and to save those things we have treasured in these.

It is also up to all of us to work together to create a new school which brings with it the opportunity to establish an educational institution that will provide a top-class education that better meets the needs of each student at each phase of his/her development.

Carolyn Carter, Woy Woy High School