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Brinsley Road Community School
Name	Brinsley Road Community School
Address	Brinsley Road Camberwell Camberwell, Victoria Camberwell is a suburb in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, 9 km east from Melbourne's central business district. Its Local Government Area is the City of Boroondara. At the 2006 Census, Camberwell had a population of 19,637.... Victoria Victoria (Australia) Victoria is the second most populous state in Australia. Geographically the smallest mainland state, Victoria is bordered by New South Wales, South Australia, and Tasmania on Boundary Islet to the north, west and south respectively.... , 3124
Established	1973
Still operating
Type	State school
Students	55, Coeducation Coeducation Mixed-sex education, also known as coeducation or co-education, is the integrated education of male and female persons in the same institution. It is the opposite of single-sex education...
Years	7 to 12
Nicknames	Brinsley Road Argo Street St Kilda alternative School

Brinsley Road Community School was a state-run high school

High school

High school is a term used in parts of the English speaking world to describe institutions which provide all or part of secondary education. The term is often incorporated into the name of such institutions....

 (years 7-12) in the suburb of Camberwell

Camberwell, Victoria

Camberwell is a suburb in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, 9 km east from Melbourne's central business district. Its Local Government Area is the City of Boroondara. At the 2006 Census, Camberwell had a population of 19,637....

, in Melbourne

Melbourne

Melbourne is the capital and most populous city in the state of Victoria, and the second most populous city in Australia. The Melbourne City Centre is the hub of the greater metropolitan area and the Census statistical division—of which "Melbourne" is the common name. As of June 2009, the greater...

, Victoria

Victoria (Australia)

Victoria is the second most populous state in Australia. Geographically the smallest mainland state, Victoria is bordered by New South Wales, South Australia, and Tasmania on Boundary Islet to the north, west and south respectively....

, 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...

. The school was established in February 1973 under the umbrella of Camberwell High School

Camberwell High School

Camberwell High School is a government-funded, co-educational high for years 7 to 12 located on Prospect Hill Road in Canterbury, a suburb of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia....

 with the support of Camberwell High School's progressive principal Margaret Essex. The school was formally referred to by the Education Department as the “Camberwell High Annex”.

School philosophy and history

The concept for the school was developed by Roy Irvine, its initial coordinator, who convinced Mr Schrum, then Director of Secondary Schools in Victoria, of the need for the alternative form of education that the school would offer.

The school started with 100 students from forms 1 to 6 (years 7 to 12), many of whom with talents and aspirations that had little chance of being developed in conventional more structured state high schools of the time. The school occupied a rambling old mansion that was previously used as a children's hostel by the Salvation Army.
The mansion was originally owned by the Baillieu family. The school buildings have now been demolished. The site and grounds now form the Brinsley Nature Reserve.

The school, also referred to as an “open school”, aimed to provide opportunities for students to become both experience-oriented and knowledge-oriented.

After several relocations, the original school concept is still operating as the Caulfield Park Community School.

The school was located at:

• Brinsley Road from 1973 to 1974
• Argo Street South Yarra during 1975
• Fitzroy Street St Kilda, from 2nd term 1976, in the hall of the St Kilda Uniting Church, later including the house attached to the church on Princes St.
• Balaclava Road Caulfield up to 2007

The school was well known for art , mathematics, science, media and practical subjects such as welding and woodwork.
Many of its 'Graduates' have found a great deal of personal and professional success and attribute some of this to the extremely supportive nature of the schools community .

Principals

(Irvine, Smith, Schapper and Tasker were titled 'School Co-ordinators')

• Mr Roy Irvine, 1973-1974 (Brinsley Road)
• Mr John White, 1975 (Argo Street)
• Mr Dave(?) Schapper, 1976 (St Kilda Alternative School)
• Mr Alan Tasker, 1977 (St Kilda Alternative School)
• Mr David Roycroft, 2007 (Caulfield Park Community School)

Alumni

• Richard Lowenstein
  Richard Lowenstein
  Richard Lowenstein is an Australian film director. He has written, produced and directed the feature films He Died With A Felafel In His Hand, Dogs In Space, Say a Little Prayer, Strikebound and Ghost Story, as well as numerous ground-breaking and award-winning music videos for bands such as INXS...
  
  , film director
• Ray Argle, film maker
• Lisa Gerrard, singer/composer
• John McPherson, author/historian
• Shoshana Sackville, dramatist
• Dan Wallace-Crabbe, musician/composer
• Simon Mansfield, Internet Publisher Spacedaily
• Dr Derith Harris, Mental Health Nurse
• John Harris , Computer Expert and coffee aficionado