An announcement
made by the Victoria Government highlighted the official opening of Wyndham
Tech School which will provide 13,000 students from 18 secondary government,
Catholic, and independent schools free access to high-tech hands-on programs
and audio visual and virtual reality facilities.
Latest technology and innovative learning
programs will be made available to students from 18 secondary schools in
Wyndham because of the efforts of the Victorian Government.
Wyndham Tech School is the fifth of 10 Tech
Schools to open under the A$128 million Tech School initiative of the Victorian
Government. In attendance during its official opening were Minister for Education
James Merlino joined by Member for Werribee Tim Pallas, Member for Altona Jill
Hennessy and Member for Tarneit Telmo Languiller.
Students will be able to use audio visual
and virtual reality facilities and high-tech STEM equipment to experiment and
develop projects, and design wearable technology in the purpose-built lab.
Pilot programs are developed in
consultation with schools and industry partners. The school will be open to students
from Term 3.
The Tech School is located at Victoria University’s
Werribee Campus. It was designed by Gray Puksand Architects and built by Harris
HMC.
13,000 students from the 18 government,
Catholic, and independent schools across Wyndham will be offered high-tech
hands-on programs for free. These programs are aligned with industries
predicted to experience economic and employment growth thereby reassuring the
kids that they are able to secure the jobs they need in the future.
Tech Schools are in line with the government’s
plan to boost performance in STEM subjects. Their goal is to achieve a 25%
increase in the number of Year 9 students reaching the highest level of
achievement in mathematics at the same time expecting an increase of 33% in the
number of 15-year-olds reaching the highest levels in science.
Minister for Education James Merlino said,
“We need students to be ready for the jobs of the future and that’s why we’re
investing in Tech Schools so they can get the hands-on learning with technology
they need.”
He added, “The Wyndham Tech School will
form an important link between our schools, TAFEs, universities and industry.”
Member for Werribee Mr Tim Pallas said, “The
Tech School will be a vibrant new education hub that gives local students the
opportunity to solve real-world problems in a real-world context while they are
still at secondary school.”
Member for Altona Ms Jill Hennessy said, “Tech
Schools will make STEM accessible and exciting, giving students the practical
experience and confidence they need for the jobs of the future.”
Member for Tarneit Mr Telmo Languiller
said, “The new Tech School is a true community achievement that will focus on
delivering cutting-edge high-tech learning to students from 18 secondary
schools in Wyndham.”
An earlier
announcement highlighted the scheduled opening of another Tech School in
Victoria, the Bendigo Tech School, which is scheduled later in the year. Both
Wyndham Tech School in Bendigo Tech School belong to the A$128 million
investment by the Victoria Government to deliver tech schools across the state.