"Our College aims to encourage each student to develop positive behaviour based on co-operation, mutual respect and tolerance amongst students, with students taking responsibility for their own actions."
Principal welcome
Hello and welcome to our School Website, we hope you find our site informative and effective in keeping you up to date on what's happening in our wonderful school.
At Cohuna Secondary College, we are proud to encourage all students to strive for excellence.
Our motto is ' EXCELLAMUS - Let us Excel'.
As Principal my role is to foster an exciting and invigorating learning environment, where students are at the forefront of teaching and learning. I strongly believe that as a school we must focus on every student having a 'voice' and being actively involved in their own learning.
Our staff work and learn together in collegiate teams to maximise student potential through implementing highly effective teaching strategies and a student support system.
We have strong community relationships that foster community respect for our students and build commitment, motivation and provide role modelling.
We also have strong community networks with local schools, businesses and service providers.
Our Vision:
At Cohuna Secondary College we:
Treat all people with respect;
Actively engage in diverse learning experiences;
Create and utilise opportunities to enhance our capabilities;
Care for and support each other within the school and the wider community; and
Strive for excellence in all that we do.
There is so much to see and enjoy at Cohuna Secondary College - I invite you to visit and experience it for yourself.
I look forward to meeting you.
Fiona Miller, Principal.
Our Story
A little bit of history (Higher Education in Cohuna to 1955)
In January 1924 Cohuna State School 2502 was granted a Higher Elementary School, and began with 69 students in classes F, E, D and C (later to become Forms 1, 11, 111 and 1V) in two rooms of the school and elsewhere. 51 students were from the township, the rest came from the surrounding rural schools. The pavilion at the then adjoining Royal Park showgrounds was used as a classroom, even though a science room and staff room were added the following year. The opening of St Mary’s Convent school in 1926 reduced the pressure slightly, although rooms in the Memorial Hall were still used. The pavilion was moved to the new Cohuna Recreation Reserve in 1935.
In June 1940, the “Red Brick Building”, (all that remains of the original school) was opened. It contained four classrooms and an administration block, and once more relieved the pressure of overcrowding.
In 1948, after many public meetings held over the previous two years, it was decided to consolidate most of the small rural schools with Cohuna State School 2502, and so it became at that time the only Consolidated Higher Elementary School in Victoria. Schools at Dalton’s Bridge, McMillans, Cohuna Estate, Gannawarra, Horfield and Burke’s Bridge were closed, the buildings transported to the Cohuna school site and their pupils carried to school on a fleet of seven buses. Enrolment in 1951 was 353 primary and 143 secondary students. Some other district schools closed in following years and their pupils also transferred to Cohuna.
By 1953 overcrowding (which had been a continual problem since the schools’ establishment in 1883) led the school Advisory Council to seek the establishment of a separate High School. After several public meetings and deputations to the Education Department, construction of the first stage, a light timber construction building, commenced on land at the other end of the oval adjoining the Consolidated School. Before the establishment of Cohuna High School education was only available to Intermediate Certificate at the Higher Elementary School.
In January 1955 High School status was granted, and the new building was occupied in May that year. Cohuna High School 7735, as a separate entity, was almost a reality!!
However, at the beginning of 1955 the building was not ready, and the staff and students of both schools had to cope with over-crowded conditions at the Consolidated School. The Library, corridors and shelter sheds were used as class rooms, and two senior classes were held in rooms at the Memorial Hall. Even after the ‘big move’ pupils continued to trek across the oval to the domestic arts and woodwork rooms and the canteen at the Consolidated School until the High School eventually obtained these facilities.
Both schools combined to make the ‘rec’ (either dusty or muddy, and we all then thought it was spelt ‘wreck’) which eventually would become the wonderful sporting facility it is today.
In 1955 enrolment was 222 students(94 boys and 128 girls). There were 63 students in Form 1, 63 in Form 2, 57 in Form 3, 31 in Form 4 and 8 in Form 5.
In 1960 - 343 students.
In 1970 - 480 students.
In 1980 - 536 students (114 in Year 7 and 30 in Year 12).
In 1990 - 374 students.
In 2010 - 237 students.
In 2012 - 253 students.
In 2013 - 272 students.
In 2015 - 268 students.
In 2016 - 236 students.
In 2017 - 231 students.
In 2018 - 217 students.
In 2019 - 214 students.
In 2020 - 200 students.
In 2022 - 190 students.
In 2023 - 171 students.
In 2024 - 174 students
College Profile
Cohuna Secondary College, with an enrolment of 170, services the rural town of Cohuna and adjacent communities. Cohuna is situated on the Murray Valley Highway on the banks of the Gunbower Creek. The area offers the potential for varied recreational activities and is abundant with many natural features. The community has access to a wide range of sporting facilities and offers a relaxed lifestyle. Cohuna is central to a highly productive irrigation and dairying industry and has a range of businesses in town that support such industry.
The College has extensive grounds (10 hectares), which provide both active and passive recreational opportunities in large ovals and an ECA Centre that houses two basketball courts, a facility that is also used by the local community. We have modernised and refurbished sever buildings. We have up-to-date e-Learning resources, including 3D printers, interactive whiteboards, scanning pens, data projectors and other devices to support effective teaching and learning in the 21st Century. In 2018 our College has embed BYOD for all students.
An extensive elective program operates in the Middle School with many Year 10 students choosing to study a VCE or VET subject. Our curriculum structure is well on the way to embedding The Victorian Curriculum, with subject leaders auditing current structures to be reflective of Victorian Curriculum requirements. Staff are working on curriculum development through a shared Teaching and Learning Architecture. NAPLAN results have been consistently strong for many years and current NAPLAN growth data reflects very positively on programs delivered at the college.
We offer an expansive program in the senior school with a large number of VCE units, VET options as well as offering School-Based Apprenticeships as a pathway option. We also offer VCAL and tuition through Distance Education and the Victorian Virtual Learning Network to support the broad range of programs offered in the senior school. This ensures students have ready access to tertiary studies and to diverse career opportunities.
Continuing success in formal studies, in sport and extra-curricular activities exemplifies the College's emphasis on quality of life education. Theatre Restaurant musical productions, involvement in the Advance (Future Leaders) program, Cambodia alternative schoolies, regional Youth Council and the growth of music and our Concert Band are all examples of the opportunities provided for our students. Our students enjoy access to an extensive and varied camp and excursions program, a public speaking forum, debating, work experience, special education programs, support for students with disabilities and impairments and inter-school sport.
Our Staff work and learn together in collegiate teams to maximise student potential through implementing highly effective teaching strategies.
We have strong community relationships that foster community respect for our students, building commitment and motivation and providing positive role modelling for all.
We aim to encourage each student to develop positive behaviour based on cooperation and mutual respect, with students taking responsibility for their own decisions.
We are a proud school with a proud history, and strive for excellence in all that we do. Let us Excel.
School Council
All government schools in Victoria have a school council. At Cohuna Secondary College we have a school council. The Council is the group of people who govern the school. It is given the power to set the key directions for the school, and is a legal entity in its own right. The School Council directly influences the quality of education that a school provides to its students.
School Council Membership
There are three types of membership on school council:
Parent Members (8)
DET Employee Members - the Principal is included as a DET staff member and has full voting rights (5)
Community Members - these positions are co-opted, rather than elected (2)
The role of School Council
The role of the School Council is outlined in the Education and Training Reform Act 2006 and Cohuna Secondary College Standing Orders. In essence, the role is one of setting the long term future for the school and maintaining oversight of the schools operation.
School Council
Our 2021 School Council is made up of the following Councillors:
Executive Officer - Fiona Miller
President - Lynne Wells
Vice President - Julie Hawken
Treasurer - Sharon Payne
Minute Taker - Bernadette Penglase
Parent Representatives - Peter Doyle, Barry Gray, Julie Hawken, Matt Hawken, Lyndsey Quinlan, Lynne Wells and Tim Wishart
DET Representatives - Matt Hill, Sharon Payne
Community Representative -
Student Members - Ebony Black and Remy Doyle