Rosehill Secondary College


Rosehill Secondary College is located in Niddrie, Victoria, Australia. In 1959, it was established as Niddrie Technical School, a single-building all-boys school. The school has been co-educational since the early 1990s and now has a gender ratio of 50% male and female students. As of 2014, the number of enrolments exceed 1,150.
Rosehill's facilities include: refurbished art rooms, visual communication and design and multimedia suite, a suite of fully equipped science rooms, a STEP learning centre which provides gifted students with the facilities to excel at higher level, purpose-built studies centres for both year 11 and year 12 students respectively, comprehensive technology facilities, a state-of-the-art computer network and first class eLearning infrastructure, a gymnasium, a weights training room, basketball and tennis courts, large Library and a middle school classroom hub.
Rosehill Secondary College is situated on the border of Essendon West and Niddrie and sits on a large, attractive site elevated high above Steele Creek, with views over the Maribyrnong River Valley. Rosehill has a continuing agenda of refurbishment of facilities, with a focus on the creation of vibrant indoor and outdoor learning spaces. The outdoor areas consist of outdoor learning environments, passive recreational areas and updated sporting facilities.
The school is a single campus with students from Years 7 to 12. The enrolment in 2014 is 1140 with growth at all levels. Girls and boys are about equal in number. Rosehill SC has International Student accreditation. The College has a balance of experienced and younger staff with three Assistant Principals, each with a discrete area of responsibility. The College runs four, 75 minute periods per day and the school is divided into a Junior School and a Senior School.
In 2014, the Junior School has 650 students and the Senior School 490. All students in Years 7–9 study Maths, Science and English and choose six elective subjects from Languages, The Arts, Physical Education and Health, Humanities and Technology; also, Literacy and Numeracy Enhancement studies. All Year 10 students study English and Maths, and eight electives from the KLAs and VCE subjects; also, an interdisciplinary unit on health, drug education, driver education, and Pathways into VCE and beyond. Students in Years 11 and 12 select a VCE or VCAL pathway.
2014 is a Year of Review and a new Strategic Plan will be in place from the commencement of the 2015 school year. VCAL is offered within the Senior School, and the College is committed to offering careers and further education pathways to all its students. The College employs consultants and coaches in the areas of Literacy and Numeracy and has worked closely with a network of schools in the development of Science Curriculum as well as the more effective use of digital technologies as an instructional and learning tool.
A Selective Talent Enrichment Program is offered from Years 7 to 10, and senior students may participate in The University of Melbourne Mathematics Extension Program.

Controversy

In March 2017, the school came under fire from parents for issuing an assignment to year 10 students that had requested for them to design and market an illicit designer drug through creating a packaging that would appeal to drug users.
The father of a student attending the school had contacted radio presenter Neil Mitchell on 3AW in order to express his outrage at the coursework, raising concerns that the task aimed to promote substance abuse and would pique curiosity about drug use among youth.
Shortly afterwards, school principal Peter Rouse was contacted by 3AW for comment, who expressed "mixed feelings" towards the assignment, going on to state that the work was "open to a bit of misinterpretation." He said that the assignment had been a part of the school's interdisciplinary studies for four years until that point, included for students to conduct and present research about the dangers of drug use. Rouse stated that the task would be removed from the course, and asserted that "we have a very strong anti-drug policy."

Notable alumni