Ashwood Secondary College is a public government school

School

A school is an institution designed for the teaching of students under the direction of teachers. Most countries have systems of formal education, which is commonly compulsory. In these systems, students progress through a series of schools...

 located in Ashwood, Victoria

Ashwood, Victoria

Ashwood is a suburb in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, 14 km south-east from Melbourne's central business district. Its Local Government Area is the City of Monash...

, Australia

Australia

Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...

.

Ashwood Secondary College offers a wide range of technical subjects along with more traditional subjects. Recently the curriculum

Curriculum

See also Syllabus.In formal education, a curriculum is the set of courses, and their content, offered at a school or university. As an idea, curriculum stems from the Latin word for race course, referring to the course of deeds and experiences through which children grow to become mature adults...

 has expanded to include an extensive arts programme. Recently Ashwood College received a grant to build a performing arts centre. This is located on the Vannam Drive side of the school connected to its school multi-purpose hall. This facility provides Ashwood with a greater ability to run its high quality performing arts productions and musical performances.

In 2006 the school started a new 'I Can' program for Year 9s. This programme allows students to perform in more practical activities such as Dance

Dance

Dance is an art form that generally refers to movement of the body, usually rhythmic and to music, used as a form of expression, social interaction or presented in a spiritual or performance setting....

, Self defence, going into nursing homes and into the Grand Prix with the teachers and a number of Year 11 students (as required).

History

Jordanville Technical School was the first secondary school located in the area and it opened in 1954, followed by Ashwood High School in 1958. Ashwood College was formed in 1988 from the merger of Ashwood High School and Jordanville Technical School. The new school was located on the High School site, while the Technical School site, across the road, was eventually redeveloped for housing in 1993.

In the news

In 2010, an arson attack left the VCE centre, ceramics room and textiles rooms destroyed, and the technology wing suffering smoke damage. Two teenagers, 14 years and 19 years, were arrested and charged with arson, burglary and theft. The rebuilding efforts are continuing (as of 23 July 2010).