The year is 2027 and city house hunters have bought the remaining few estate homes in Victor Harbor. It’s a young town again. Some call it a suburb of Adelaide because of the extended Expressway link to Ocean Street, and the young city kids are driving their electric cars here for university studies.
The property sales trend may have a tad of credence, but bollocks you say to god’s maternity ward becoming an adjunct to the university system. Maybe not.
If you have cruised by the Investigator College Victor Harbor campus by the turn to Yankalilla in real time you will have noticed a new education facility near completion costing $7 million.
It is a stunning structure, but the most remarkable thing is that it is a secondary school taking on the feel of a university. In the very near future we are likely to have Flinders University or Adelaide University sharing the facility to accommodate a new generation of school leavers with a genuine chance of playing on an even university and employment playing field with their city counterparts.
With this vision local young people may find it easier and more cost effective to remain across this region; suddenly we’re talking lifestyle not stress.
According to Investigator College principal and chief executive Don Grimmett, and director of teaching and learning Andrew Panozzo, this innovative new complex specifically for Year 10-12 students sharing possibilities with a university is incredibly exciting, not just for the school but the region.
“The Investigator College board has been quite visionary to make this investment on infrastructure for senior school students,” Don said. “The region loses a lot of school students who go to university in Adelaide. TAFE has also been trying to keep students here with their facility.
“If we can encourage school leavers here and get universities on board with the possibility of using our new facility – and they can with its state of the art communication facilities – there is no reason why students can’t spend a greater proportion of their time at home.”
Andrew said Investigator already had an exciting link with Flinders University which uses the school’s amazing Currency Creek sustainability project complex to teach a section of its first-year biology course.
“This year a couple of our students are going to join the university class for that course so we already share strong connection,” Andrew said.
“We are working towards an Adelaide University involvement as well. The whole purpose of our new structure at our Victor Harbor campus is about transitioning our students to tertiary education or training.”
Don said Investigator College was planting the infrastructure with the realisation that universities were working harder on broadening their operation from a central location, particularly with the use of technology. “You can get a course on your iPhone,” he noted.
Basically, the college is investigating the huge mutual benefit for a university and the school to open the new facility to maturing young people to achieve the best possible outcomes in their tertiary education.
Andrew said one of the things that people had discovered was that country students had generally been unprepared for life at university. “Our aim for the past 10 years has been to get our students not only ready for uni or TAFE, but the world of work; getting kids really transitioning,” he said.
“We rate ourselves not against other schools in the region, but against capital cities. Gone are the days when people say, ‘oh that is okay for a country school’. They want everything now, and they deserve to have the best. To learn and to be successful in the 21st century you can’t be using 20th century facilities.
“We regard our new facility as unique because it will be dedicated purely to semi-secondary school, and that provides a real choice for all people in Goolwa, Victor Harbor or anyone across the southern Fleurieu. It is a very attractive model for everyone; it is something that is being used a lot more in senior secondary college campuses interstate.
“Offering the university mindset, working alongside like-minded people and having expert teachers represents that important next step before working.
“There is a capacity for independent learning, and a sense of collaboration with other students and staff. It is a team effort; it’s about developing employability skills which includes collaborative and independent learning. It’s about using initiative; all those things that employers are looking for.
“This is not just another school building. It is a change of focus for the region. It is a community asset not just an Investigator asset.”
Don said students rose to the expectations around them. “If you are actually imitating university-style expectation as far as their dress and behaviour, and the way they address each other, students will rise to that level,” he said.
“It is the expectation of everyone in that environment. Realistically, you cannot have that in years 8 & 9 because they are still developing, but young adults can. They step up and have a focus on self-motivation, which university is all about.
“To me our school has never been just about the school. We have a responsibility to be a good corporate citizen to actually develop a community. Healthy communities are made up of healthy organisations that actually contribute.”
The new Y10-12 facility will offer a wide choice of subjects presented by experts in small classes with more than 30 SACE/VET units including specialist mathematics, drama, music, chemistry, and child studies. There will be nationally-accredited certificates including horticulture, sustainability and land management. The whole concept and innovative approach to preparing our young adults for the real world is exciting.
As Don and Andrew said, ultimately the new facility and the entire education process was about helping young people be the best they can in life. One is confident there is no one in the class of 2017 silly enough to even think about extending the expressway to Ocean Street. But will they be able to afford to buy a house in Victor Harbor? We hope they work hard on this.
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