Special Edition News
Uniting Emmanuel in 2025
This year the focus at our College has been on a program of renewal that we have called Re-imagining Emmanuel. On Tuesday evening we were excited to share with Emmanuel families some news about the biggest re-imagining of all! Emmanuel College is about to undergo one of the most significant changes in its history, having made the decision to unite our College onto a single campus - the McAuley Campus in Botanic Road. This decision follows an extensive review of the College Masterplan and a feasibility study to identify the option with the greatest long-term benefit for the College and the most positive impact upon student learning and safety.
The uniting of all year levels at the McAuley Campus will be one of the most substantial and exciting projects undertaken in Emmanuel’s history. The move will be transformative with the construction of a new and innovative Year Nine Learning Centre to complement the dedicated junior and senior schools that begin operating next year. All Emmanuel students will be housed on the one site, removing the need for anyone to travel between two campuses for lessons.
Access to a dedicated and innovative Year 9 Learning Centre will benefit Year 9 students specifically at a critical time in their social and educational development, by enabling them to be part of the whole school, whilst experiencing independent learning in the stand-alone 9@RICE program. The relocation of Year 11 and 12 students to the McAuley Campus and incorporating the Year 10 cohort into the new vertical senior school structure, will allow the College to provide students in these year levels with additional benefits and opportunities, including peer mentoring, subject acceleration, and leadership cultivation.
Removing the need to walk between campuses will enhance student safety and build a sense of community with all members of the Emmanuel College family located on one site. Operationally, it will also improve the school’s overall offering, through the creation of increased efficiencies and economies of scale.
We will commemorate the Rice Campus and celebrate the significant role it has played in the life of the school over many years. Before we depart the Rice Campus we will consult with the Parish, Alumni and the wider school community about how we farewell the Campus.
We are pleased to be able to share with you in these images a draft of the overall plan along with some of the architect’s images of the future Year 9 Centre. No doubt these may be subject to change along the way as we further develop and refine these ideas and prepare to vacate the Canterbury Road site by 2025.
As we embark upon this exciting journey, we are keen to engage with our College community. Given the size of the project, there will be many questions. Information and updates will be available on the Emmanuel College website: https://www.emmanuel.vic.edu.au/ and early in 2022 we will be holding an information session where concepts and plans for the new year nine centre will be unveiled. Information about the consolidation and the new centre will be available at our Open Evening on 30 March 2022.
Campus draft plan and Year 9 Centre images
