Mowbray College

Mowbray College
Location
Kurunjang
,
Victoria

Australia
Information
TypeIndependent, co-educational, day school
MottoWe Learn And Grow
Established1983
FounderAlan Patterson
Closed22 June 2012
PrincipalDavid Robertson (acting)
Staff~200[1]
Enrolment<1000[1]
Colour(s)Maroon and navy blue

Mowbray College was an independent, selective, co-educational day school, located in Kurunjang, Victoria and Caroline Springs, Victoria, Australia.

The school had three campuses. The Patterson campus, located at Kurunjang, taught students from preschool to Year Twelve.[2] The Brookside and Town Centre campuses were both located in Caroline Springs.[2] The Brookside campus was used for students in pre-school to Year Six, while Town Centre was for secondary students (Years Seven to Twelve).[2] The Brookside campus was located at the Brookside Learning Centre, which hosted common facilities (such as administration facilities, library, gymnasium, arts rooms, and science rooms) shared by Mowbray, the Brookside campus of Caroline Springs College and Christ the Priest Catholic Primary School.[3]

Mowbray College was an International Baccalaureate school, having offered the IB Primary Years Programme and IB Middle Years Programme since the end of 2007,[4][5] and the IB Diploma Programme since May 2008.[6]

Mowbray was one of thirteen Australian participants in the Round Square Conference of Schools.[7] On 28 May 2012, college board chairperson, Tracey MacKenzie, told a meeting of parents, staff and students that the college had debts of more than $18 million and that emergency funding of $4 million was needed to allow the college to operate until the end of the year, or the board would have to consider entering into voluntary administration.[8] Subsequently, the school did go into voluntary administration on 30 May 2012.[9]

On 2 June 2012 the administrators announced that the school would be closed on 6 June for all students except those currently studying VCE or International Baccalaureate subjects. A grant of $1 million from the State Government would allow those students to continue at the school until the end of second term on 22 June.[10]

On 15 October 2012 it was announced that the three closed campuses had been sold. Heathdale Christian College in Werribee bought the Kurunjang site for an undisclosed sum, the Caroline Springs town centre campus was bought for $6.7 million by Intaj Khan, the chief executive of the Western Institute of Technology, and Grace Children's Services bought the Brookside campus for $3.3 million.[11]

  1. ^ a b Topsfield, Jewel (15 October 2012). "School bell rings again on Mowbray campuses". The Age. The Age. Retrieved 30 December 2012.
  2. ^ a b c "Mowbray College". The National Education Directory of Australia. 2009. Retrieved 18 May 2009.
  3. ^ "Back to basics". The Age. 19 October 2006. Retrieved 18 May 2009.
  4. ^ "International Baccalaureate - Mowbray College Brookside Campus". International Baccalaureate Organization. Retrieved 6 March 2009.
  5. ^ "International Baccalaureate - Mowbray College Patterson Campus". International Baccalaureate Organization. Retrieved 6 March 2009.
  6. ^ "International Baccalaureate - Mowbray College". International Baccalaureate Organization. Retrieved 5 March 2009.
  7. ^ "Member Schools in the Round Square". roundsquare.org. Retrieved 18 May 2009.
  8. ^ Andria Cozza (29 May 2012). "Mowbray College: Future bleak as college fails to raise vital financial support". Brimbank/North West Weekly. Retrieved 29 May 2012.
  9. ^ "Students in limbo as Melbourne school goes under". ABC News. Australian Broadcasting Corporation. 30 May 2012. Retrieved 30 May 2012.
  10. ^ Nathan Mawby (2 June 2012). "$1m injection buys time for Mowbray College VCE pupils". Herald Sun. Retrieved 3 June 2012.
  11. ^ Topsfield, Jewel (16 October 2012). "School bells to ring again on Mowbray campuses". The Age. Retrieved 18 October 2012.