Students flock to new-look college

WITH a new name and new ideas, the former Rokeby High School has turned its fortunes around.

Now named Bayview Secondary College, the year 7-12 school is thriving and has plans for an additional Year 7 class next year to meet demand.

“Four years ago we were feeling like our situation was quite dire,” principal Gill Berriman said.

“It’s really shifted in the last few years.”

She said the student population had increased by 40 per cent in the past two years.

Enrolments are coming in for all grades, including from students who had left the school.

“A lot of kids are coming back to us,” Ms Berriman said.

“We’re doing things differently and we’re doing things that are really high quality.”

Bayview Secondary College added Year 11 and 12 classes this year.

It is one of the teggana Collective schools. The collective — which also includes Rosny College, Rose Bay and Clarence high schools, Campania and Triabunna district schools, and Sorell School — was one response to the State Government’s push to extend high schools to Year 12.

The teggana schools take collective responsibility for all of their students, and specialist subjects are offered at each of the schools, but are open to all students.

At Bayview, the extension to Year 12 has meant the introduction of hairdressing, creative industries, and introduction to nursing vocational education courses.

“They are not being offered at Rosny. They’re offered on our campus but they’re part of the teggana network,” Ms Berriman said.

About 15 VET students from other teggana schools, and the Catholic MacKillop College, come to Bayview for one of its courses.

“For next year’s VET courses we anticipate enrolments from all of the teggana schools ... we might even get some from across the river as well,” Ms Berriman said.

More academic subjects are planned for next year.

The school has a refurbished STEM — science, technology, engineering and mathematics — area, a redesigned fitness centre and refurbished classrooms for its senior secondary students.

This year, there are about 30 seniors but Ms Berriman expects that number will rise to between 60 and 80 next year.

“The top end of the school is exploding,” Ms Berriman said. “We’ll be doing some more refurbishment as the year goes on.”

Ms Berriman expects the school to have more than 300 students from Year 7 to 12 next year, for the first time in more than 15 years.

“Fifteen years ago we were only at 231,” she said.

“To be back there means we’ve well and truly shifted our school back into being a strong, vibrant school on the Eastern Shore.”