Brunswick South Primary School
Encyclopedia
Brunswick South Primary School (BSPS) is a government primary school located in Brunswick East
, a suburb of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
.
The school was ear-marked by the Kennett state-government
in the 1990s to be sold-off as being excess to requirements. The local community fought a strong campaign to successfully save the school.
The school's Victorian
and Edwardian buildings are a significant landmark on Brunswick Road and are protected by a Heritage Overlay
(HO35) in the Moreland Planning Scheme.
and Carlton North
, the Victorian Education Department purchased land for a school in Brunswick Road in 1873; only a decade later schools in the area were declared full. It opened as South Brunswick State School on 1 May 1886. It was a 2-storey brick building, with 6 rooms and a headmaster's office, and designed to accommodate 498 children. Although 967 pupils were enrolled, the average attendance during the first year was 491 students. However, within nine months the new school had to turn 14 prospective pupils away. In June 1888 some small brick additions, including a caretaker's residence were added, though with an enrolment of more than 800 children, there was an ongoing accommodation problem. On 22 April 1914 an Infant School building intended to accommodate 400 children was opened to the east of the main block, which became known as the 'little school'.
In 1933 a Rural Training School was established at the school by the Melbourne Teacher's College, to provide newly graduating teachers with experience prior to being posted in the bush
. There was also an Opportunity Grade which was intended to meet the needs of 'backward' children and focused on practical tasks and manual skills. Traditional discipline (the strap for boys) was used at the school until 1982 when corporal punishment
was abolished by the government.
After 1946, grades 7 and 8 were phased out, though it wasn't until 31 January 1970 that the name of the school was changed to Brunswick South Primary School. By 1947 enrolments at South Brunswick had declined to 616 pupils, and by 1965, this had fallen to 455. Since its earliest days, the school population included a small number of children from non-English speaking, non-Protestant backgrounds, but in the late 1940s, this element of diversity was dramatically increased by the arrival of thousands of European refugee
s to Australia. Brunswick in particular attracted large numbers of Italians and Greeks in the 1950s and 1960s, followed by Yugoslavs, Turks, Lebanese and Vietnamese. By 1967, enrolments were on the way up again at 577, and the principal of the time, William Pitts, drew up new policies aimed to adjust the school to meet the needs of its increasingly diverse students.
However, the late 1960s and early 1970s were hard times for the school, as there were increasing maintenance issues, staffing problems, high truancy and behavioural problems and a lack of community participation in school affairs. Despite the school council creating designated positions for parents representing the major ethnic groups, participation was minimal. By 1975 enrolments were down to 350. This state of affairs produced an extraordinary upsurge in efforts to engage the community by school staff, who visited all of the students' families in their own time. The school council was given expanded powers and increased representation followed. By 1981, the Education Department's District Inspector wrote in his review of BSPS: 'Best example of school, community support in area. As close to a community-based school as can be in the area.' The enrolment was now down to 186 pupils, and by the centenary celebrations of 1986, there were only 100 students at the school.
The main building of the school, a two-storey brick structure was designed under H R Bastow, a prominent member of the Plymouth Brethren
the Chief Architect of the Public Works Department.
The School's historical significance derives from technical, cultural and social factors. Firstly, it demonstrates Brunswick's rapid of growth pattern in in the 1880s and ways of building developed for constrained inner-city cites. It also illustrates changes in school standards and teaching practices as well as showing the influence of the Brunswick community in achieving the standard of education they sought.
It is a large Gothic style building. It was the last of eleven schools which developed towards a distinct two storeyed central block between 1877–86, the building is recognisable for its high pitched slate roof, pointed arches, and clusters of tall octagonal chimneys and quatrefoils.
and the Moreland Council in an effort to make the school environmentally sustainable. The school is accredited for international students, and is funded for specialist teaching aides for students with disabilities.
In May 2008, Brunswick South Primary School entered into an agreement with CitySide Sports (www.citysidesports.com) to use the schools carpeted turf outdoor courts for netball after school hours on weeknights. CitySide Sports placed lighting into the school so that night time senior competitions could be run on weeknights.
Brunswick East, Victoria
Brunswick East is a suburb in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, 6 km north from Melbourne's central business district. Its Local Government Area is the City of Moreland. At the 2006 Census, Brunswick East had a population of 7,410....
, a suburb of Melbourne, Victoria, 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 ear-marked by the Kennett state-government
Jeff Kennett
Jeffrey Gibb Kennett AC , a former Australian politician, was the Premier of Victoria between 1992 and 1999. He is currently the President of Hawthorn Football Club. He is the founding Chairman of beyondblue, a national depression initiative.- Early life :Kennett was born in Melbourne on 2 March...
in the 1990s to be sold-off as being excess to requirements. The local community fought a strong campaign to successfully save the school.
The school's Victorian
Victorian architecture
The term Victorian architecture refers collectively to several architectural styles employed predominantly during the middle and late 19th century. The period that it indicates may slightly overlap the actual reign, 20 June 1837 – 22 January 1901, of Queen Victoria. This represents the British and...
and Edwardian buildings are a significant landmark on Brunswick Road and are protected by a Heritage Overlay
Heritage Overlay
A Heritage Overlay or HO is one of a number of planning scheme overlays contained in the Victorian Planning Provisions, for use in planning schemes in Victoria, Australia...
(HO35) in the Moreland Planning Scheme.
History
Due to rapidly increasing population in BrunswickBrunswick, Victoria
Brunswick is a suburb in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, 6 km north from Melbourne's central business district. Its Local Government Area is the City of Moreland...
and Carlton North
Carlton North, Victoria
Carlton North is a suburb in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, 4 km north from Melbourne's central business district. Its Local Government Area are the Cities of Melbourne and Yarra...
, the Victorian Education Department purchased land for a school in Brunswick Road in 1873; only a decade later schools in the area were declared full. It opened as South Brunswick State School on 1 May 1886. It was a 2-storey brick building, with 6 rooms and a headmaster's office, and designed to accommodate 498 children. Although 967 pupils were enrolled, the average attendance during the first year was 491 students. However, within nine months the new school had to turn 14 prospective pupils away. In June 1888 some small brick additions, including a caretaker's residence were added, though with an enrolment of more than 800 children, there was an ongoing accommodation problem. On 22 April 1914 an Infant School building intended to accommodate 400 children was opened to the east of the main block, which became known as the 'little school'.
In 1933 a Rural Training School was established at the school by the Melbourne Teacher's College, to provide newly graduating teachers with experience prior to being posted in the bush
The Bush
"The bush" is a term used for rural, undeveloped land or country areas in certain countries.-Australia:The term is iconic in Australia. In reference to the landscape, "bush" describes a wooded area, intermediate between a shrubland and a forest, generally of dry and nitrogen-poor soil, mostly...
. There was also an Opportunity Grade which was intended to meet the needs of 'backward' children and focused on practical tasks and manual skills. Traditional discipline (the strap for boys) was used at the school until 1982 when corporal punishment
Corporal punishment
Corporal punishment is a form of physical punishment that involves the deliberate infliction of pain as retribution for an offence, or for the purpose of disciplining or reforming a wrongdoer, or to deter attitudes or behaviour deemed unacceptable...
was abolished by the government.
After 1946, grades 7 and 8 were phased out, though it wasn't until 31 January 1970 that the name of the school was changed to Brunswick South Primary School. By 1947 enrolments at South Brunswick had declined to 616 pupils, and by 1965, this had fallen to 455. Since its earliest days, the school population included a small number of children from non-English speaking, non-Protestant backgrounds, but in the late 1940s, this element of diversity was dramatically increased by the arrival of thousands of European refugee
Refugee
A refugee is a person who outside her country of origin or habitual residence because she has suffered persecution on account of race, religion, nationality, political opinion, or because she is a member of a persecuted 'social group'. Such a person may be referred to as an 'asylum seeker' until...
s to Australia. Brunswick in particular attracted large numbers of Italians and Greeks in the 1950s and 1960s, followed by Yugoslavs, Turks, Lebanese and Vietnamese. By 1967, enrolments were on the way up again at 577, and the principal of the time, William Pitts, drew up new policies aimed to adjust the school to meet the needs of its increasingly diverse students.
However, the late 1960s and early 1970s were hard times for the school, as there were increasing maintenance issues, staffing problems, high truancy and behavioural problems and a lack of community participation in school affairs. Despite the school council creating designated positions for parents representing the major ethnic groups, participation was minimal. By 1975 enrolments were down to 350. This state of affairs produced an extraordinary upsurge in efforts to engage the community by school staff, who visited all of the students' families in their own time. The school council was given expanded powers and increased representation followed. By 1981, the Education Department's District Inspector wrote in his review of BSPS: 'Best example of school, community support in area. As close to a community-based school as can be in the area.' The enrolment was now down to 186 pupils, and by the centenary celebrations of 1986, there were only 100 students at the school.
Campus
By the 1880s, Brunswick and Lee Street Primary schools were at full capacity, a site for another Brunswick school had been sought, with North Carlton and South Brunswick growing rapidly.The main building of the school, a two-storey brick structure was designed under H R Bastow, a prominent member of the Plymouth Brethren
Plymouth Brethren
The Plymouth Brethren is a conservative, Evangelical Christian movement, whose history can be traced to Dublin, Ireland, in the late 1820s. Although the group is notable for not taking any official "church name" to itself, and not having an official clergy or liturgy, the title "The Brethren," is...
the Chief Architect of the Public Works Department.
The School's historical significance derives from technical, cultural and social factors. Firstly, it demonstrates Brunswick's rapid of growth pattern in in the 1880s and ways of building developed for constrained inner-city cites. It also illustrates changes in school standards and teaching practices as well as showing the influence of the Brunswick community in achieving the standard of education they sought.
It is a large Gothic style building. It was the last of eleven schools which developed towards a distinct two storeyed central block between 1877–86, the building is recognisable for its high pitched slate roof, pointed arches, and clusters of tall octagonal chimneys and quatrefoils.
School community
The school has established links with CERESCERES Community Environment Park
The CERES Community Environment Park, or Centre for Education and Research in Environmental Strategies, is an award-winning urban environmental centre located in urban Brunswick East, Victoria, Australia...
and the Moreland Council in an effort to make the school environmentally sustainable. The school is accredited for international students, and is funded for specialist teaching aides for students with disabilities.
In May 2008, Brunswick South Primary School entered into an agreement with CitySide Sports (www.citysidesports.com) to use the schools carpeted turf outdoor courts for netball after school hours on weeknights. CitySide Sports placed lighting into the school so that night time senior competitions could be run on weeknights.
Alumni
- Sir Kenneth LukeKenneth LukeSir Kenneth Luke was a self-made millionaire manufacturer and a leading Australian rules football administrator in the Victorian Football League...
- Russell Charles Hitchcock, Australian vocalist with Air SupplyAir SupplyAir Supply is an Australian soft rock duo, consisting of Graham Russell as guitarist and singer-songwriter and Russell Hitchcock as lead vocalist. They had a succession of hits worldwide, including eight Top Ten hits in the United States, in the early 1980s...
- George Tack, jazz musician and wood scientist