Our History
We have a culturally diverse and rich history.
Fitzroy High School first opened in 1915, and was closed in 1992. Fitzroy High School was one of the first of many schools to be closed across the state during this time.
The local community activated and campaigned for Fitzroy High School. To stop the site from being sold, volunteers occupied the site and slept in the school every night for over two years. Community members lobbied government to re-open the school.
Following successful lobbying, in 2002 Mary Delahunty, Education Minister, approved plans to re-open Fitzroy High School for students in Years 7 to 10. The school was given a mandate by the Department of Education: to be innovative in in our approach to education, and to ensure our students left school with the skills required to successfully navigate their futures.
Around the same time Pauline Rice, former Principal of Fitzroy High School, was in the regional office of the Department of Education working on Middle Years Education research. She was a member of the working party with the inaugural principal, Tim Fitzgerald, to plan for and design the curriculum and organisational structure of the re-born Fitzroy High School, which was based on the most up to date educational research.
The site underwent significant renovation, including the construction of a new science and technology wing, a library and a food technology room. Ironically, the original 1915 building provided the opportunity for more flexible learning spaces than the 1960’s building.
Fitzroy High School re-opened in 2004 with 135 students in Years 7 and 8. It expanded to Years 9 and 10. VCE classes for Years 11 and 12 in began in 2007, in partnership with Collingwood College.
To increase accommodation for up to 600 students, designed by McBride Charles Ryan, a new iconic building was completed in 2009. At the time, the building was unique, comprising flexible learning spaces over three levels. The building won a number of design awards including the Dulux Colour and the Australian Institute of Architecture Victorian Chapter annual award 2010 – Public Alterations and Additions. The building was a finalist in the 2010 Premier Design Awards in Victoria. The architects won the International Architecture Award for the building in 2011. The bold colour in the new building now reaches into the 1960’s building, providing a vibrant background to display student work.
The 2018-19 State Budget has allocated funds to plan for a new senior secondary campus to be shared by Collingwood College and Fitzroy High School on the Fitzroy Gasworks site. Both Collingwood College and Fitzroy High School will continue to operate at their current locations in addition to the new shared Wurun Senior campus.
The campus will build on the successful Senior Secondary Partnership that has been running for nearly a decade between our dynamic inner city state schools.
Collingwood College and Fitzroy High School have been working together delivering a wide choice of senior secondary programs while maintaining a strong identity and attachment to each of the respective schools by students and teachers.
This Wurun Senior Campus offers a key opportunity for well integrated senior secondary education provision in the City of Yarra. The community is culturally rich, growing fast, and offers the possibility of making links and partnerships with diverse businesses, services and tertiary providers.
