Cool 7-12 response

Hamish Heard
Civic leaders and education figures have issued a cool response to a Liberal plan for a stand-alone secondary school in Torquay.
Candidate for South Barwon Michael King and Shadow Education Minister Martin Dixon announced the proposal this week.
Mr King said Torquay residents should view next month’s state election as a referendum on whether the town should have a year-seven-to-12 school.
He pledged an additional $5 million to the millions Labor was spending to expand Torquay Primary School to include years seven to nine.
But Surf Coast Mayor Libby Mears would not welcome the Liberals’ proposal, saying she was “comfortable” with the Labor Government’s plan.
“(The shire has) always supported the concept of the primary school expanding (into a prep to year nine school) and as the population grows we will eventually have a secondary college to meet the needs of students in years seven to 12.”
Cr Mears predicted Torquay would have schooling for students to year 12 within “10 or 20 years” under the Bracks Government’s model.
“It’s not that I don’t support the Opposition’s proposal, it’s just that they haven’t talked to me about it,” she said.
Torquay Primary School principal Pam Kinsman refused to comment on the proposal.
The school’s council president, Jeremy Threadgold, doubted whether Torquay had the demand to fill a stand-alone secondary college.
“It would be nice but my own feeling is we wouldn’t have the student numbers to get it going properly,” Mr Threadgold said.
Mr King was surprised the Mayor, an Airey’s Inlet resident, had not welcomed the proposal.
“It seems to me very much an Airey’s Inlet view because it certainly isn’t a Torquay view,” he said.
The region’s parents had conducted a survey that found 81 per cent would reject Labor’s proposal and send children to school in Geelong instead, Mr King said.
“With the population growth we’ve had here and expected future growth, a secondary college in Torquay is well overdue,” he said.
“This is a major win for our community and is part of a fully-costed and budgeted plan for the Surf Coast region.”