Wednesday, 18 June 2025

 Katie HALL (Footscray) (09:47): Twenty-nine years ago Footscray High School was shut down ‍– no prizes for guessing by whom – but since its reopening under a Labor government in 2020 the school has gone from strength to strength. This year marks a milestone: the first graduating class to have completed their entire secondary schooling at the new Footscray High. Across the Pilgrim, Barkly and Kinnear campuses, this school community has benefited from generational investment under the Allan Labor government, turning vision into reality for public education in the inner west.

I recently attended a dinner hosted at the Kinnear campus by the VET cookery students, and it was phenomenal. Supported by local institution Bar Thyme, the produce came from the Footscray High farm. The four-course menu was prepared and served by the students themselves. We dined under student-made decorations and were serenaded by the school’s music students.

The other week I was at Footscray High’s music showcase and heard a brilliant cover of Tool’s Forty Six & 2 by student band the Pilgrims. You can check them out on my Instagram. It was good enough that the federal arts minister Tony Burke gave it a like. Later this week I will be attending the 100-year anniversary of the Barkly campus. It has seen many iterations: Footscray college of domestic arts, where my grandmother went, Footscray girls school, Gilmore girls college and now Footscray High.