Ballarat's Catholic secondary schools are being forced to turn away scores of applicants as demand soars for their places.
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Despite offering more than 550 places between them, Damascus, Loreto and St Patrick's Colleges have received hundreds more applications for year seven in 2020 than places available. Applications for Damascus closed on February 15, Loreto's closed on February 7, and St Patricks' on December 7 last year.
The soaring demand has raised questions about whether another high school is needed.
Damascus College principal Matt Byrne said the possibility of another Catholic secondary college had been discussed within the local Catholic Education Office, but was only at a conversation level.
"The possibility of another Catholic secondary school is something we are certainly talking about, but not in any formal way," he said.
Mr Byrne said applications were "well in excess" of the 208 places that would be offered in the eight year seven classes at Damascus College for next year.
"We continue to monitor the situation and in time we may look at increasing enrolments but at this point in time we need to ensure we can do the things we set out to do well."
At St Patrick's College there have been more than 240 applicants for 225 year seven places for 2020.
“St Patrick’s College has over 60 Indigenous students from across Australia studying at the College, bringing wonderful energy, life and culture to our diverse community," said principal John Crowley.
“In recent years it has been particularly pleasing to see a significant increase in boarding enrolments at the College, following the construction of our new boarding precinct."
Principal Judith Potter said there had always been a high demand for places at Loreto.
"As the population in Ballarat has increased the demand for places has increased. We currently offer places for six Year 7 classes each year; the number of classes was strategically increased from five to six classes over six years ago. The demand increased further for Year 7 2019," she said.
"We certainly take planning to meet the demand for places very seriously. The College Board is currently in the process of planning for the future and is considering all options to enhance our capacity to meet the increasing demand for girls’ education in Ballarat."
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