ABOUT THE SNOWY RIVER CAMPUS

Background

The Snowy River Campus is the latest of the Victorian State Department of Education’s year nine residential leadership programs, known as RLC’s. Based upon the successful Alpine School model, more than $3.0m was allocated in to construct the 45 student, state of the art centre on the Marlo Aerodrome site in far East Gippsland, near Marlo.

The site is the second of three residential schools currently operated by State Education Victoria, the first being the Alpine School at Dinner Plain. The third site is currently under development at Glenormiston near Camperdown in the west of the state.

Marlo was chosen among many reasons because it being on the coast and, with the fabulous location of the Alpine School at Dinner Plain in the Victorian Alps, represents another in the wonderful diversity that is the Victorian landscape. The third site will conclude the trilogy of locations that will be the world-class, ambitious multi-campus residential program of Rural Learning Campuses in Victoria.
Marlo was selected from a field of over 50 locations nominated by rural shires across Victoria. The school occupies a beautiful location of approximately 15 hectares on the 400ha Marlo airfield reserve. The site is safe, secluded, has views of the distant Errindra plateaux.

The architects for the site at Marlo, Fooks Martin Sandow Anson, were chosen by a Ministerial panel auspiced by the Australian Institute of Architects. There were 40 proposals for the architecture nominated in a National Competition.

An expert team of teaching and support staff have been recruited to operate the facility and deliver a world class leadership curriculum. The curriculum remains true to the Alpine School concept in having a focus on Community Learning Projects sourced from the home area of the students.

Applications for the Snowy River Campus, and a matrix advising rotation of the regions, is located on the Alpine School website.

The same architects are currently working with the School Resource Division in the Department of Education and an expert Planning and Steering committee, comprising key staff from the Alpine School and other stakeholders, to guide the design, development, construction of the Glenormiston project.

Recruitment and staffing, fitout and curriculum work at Glenormsitin is due to take place in late 2008 for a practical completion in December that year and operation at Glenormistin in term 1 2009.