Wednesday, 14 May 2025

Adjournment

Serpell Primary School

Matthew GUY (Bulleen) (19:00): (1131) Tonight I raise an issue in relation to Serpell Primary School in Templestowe. Serpell Primary School is one of the larger primary schools in the City of Manningham – in fact I think the largest, at about 1250 students. As the name suggests, it is located partly on Serpells Road and Tuckers Road in Templestowe, and it has abutted a Catholic school called St Charles Borromeo for a number of years – Serpell was built first, then St Charles second. Unfortunately, St Charles’s enrolments have been steadily declining, and at the start of this year, very sadly, that school closed. St Charles Borromeo ceased operation, and the handful of students – I think, from memory, it was about three or four – were transferred to St Gregory in Doncaster. It is very sad because it was a lovely school and had a great reputation, but the school has been closed. It abuts, as I said, Serpell Primary.

Serpell Primary is a school on a small land parcel with 1200-plus students. So what you have is St Charles Borromeo, now vacant, owned by the Catholic education office, abutting Serpell Primary – and St Charles has capacity for 200 to 300 kids – where you have this land, this facility, now vacant next door to an overcrowded primary school just because of the popularity in many ways of Serpell and the great work that principal Wilma Culton and the staff do up there. Just as a matter of comparison, Templestowe Park Primary has 593 students, Templestowe Valley 450, Milgate 827, Doncaster Gardens 722 and Templestowe Heights 537. As I said, Serpell has nearly 1240, so it is a big school, and you have got this great big problem of a lot of kids on a small land parcel. There is not much we can do about that, except that now next to Serpell Primary is St Charles Borromeo.

So I am asking the Minister for Education via my adjournment tonight to negotiate with the Catholic education office to see if there can be either a purchase or a land transfer that would see the former St Charles Borromeo site come to the ownership of the Victorian government and thus the state education office, which can then use that facility as part of Serpell Primary. That would help to alleviate the overcrowding of some of the facilities in Serpell Primary. It might be able to be a grades 5 and 6 campus, if you like. As I said, it is right next door to Serpell Primary. It would be really sensible. I understand there might be some difficulties in doing so, but my adjournment matter tonight seeks for the Minister for Education to begin those discussions with the Catholic education office.