Population growth continues to put pressure on Ballarat's booming secondary colleges, with the number of year sevens set to start high school in 2020 almost double the number of year 12 students who finished in 2019.
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But the biggest growth is at Woodmans Hill Secondary College and Mount Rowan Secondary College where almost four times as many year sevens are enrolled as year 12s who have just finished their exams.
The schools, which this year became separate entities after years of being campuses of Ballarat Secondary College, have recorded strong growth across all year levels and an almost 25 per cent increase in total enrolment numbers compared to two years ago.
In 2018 there were 635 students across the two schools and next year there will be about 880 - 450 at Woodmans Hill and 430 at Mount Rowan.
Both schools have been extensively rebuilt over the past 18 months, with $6.2 million spent at Woodmans Hill Secondary College and $12.6 million at Mount Rowan.
Ballarat's school zones were redrawn this year to redistribute student populations particularly in the city's northern and western growth areas.
Mount Rowan principal Seona Murnane said an extra year seven class would be added next year, bringing the total to five.
She said the growth was "a lot to do with the (school) boundaries changing, but we are seeing people choose to come here as well".
Woodmans Hill principal Stephan Fields said growth at the school reflected the "amazing relationship we've got within the community ... and our student ambassadors".
"We are in a unique position with zoning compared to some of the other Ballarat schools. We haven't got the same major building developments in our zone - our numbers are coming from those existing areas where perhaps we didn't have students coming from before," he said.
In his first year at the school, Mr Fields said he had concentrated on building stronger community links.
"It's something we will do more of because we've got great kids at Woodmans Hill and a lot to offer the community. The idea of being citizens within a community is something really important to us."
Across the city, about 900 students will start year seven at a government secondary school in 2020, compared to 475 year 12s who have just completed their final exams.
BALLARAT'S GROWING PROBLEM
- Ballarat school zones change in response to growth
- New building projects transforming Mount Rowan Secondary College
- Secondary college upgrades underway
- Ballarat's secondary schools bracing for massive population growth with new student numbers outstripping those leaving
- New schools guaranteed to help ease Ballarat's growing problem, regardless of election outcome
- Ballarat's population grows by almost 2,000 new residents in a year
- Demand soars for enrolment in Ballarat's Catholic secondary schools
- School squeeze as Miners Rest Primary enrolments soar
Ballarat High School has consistently had enrolments around its ceiling of 1500 for the past few years, and its enrolment zone has been reduced to take in to account the growth in Lucas and Alfredton.
Phoenix P-12 Community College principal Karen Snibson said growth remained strong but zone changes meant there were slightly fewer year sevens starting in 2020 than the record 270 that began at the school in 2019.
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