Lilydale High School

Lilydale High School is a government secondary school located in the suburb of Lilydale, east of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. It covers both junior secondary and higher secondary (VCE) curricula. Leon Bishop commenced as the school's principal in 2006 after the retirement in 2005 of the school's principal of 18 years, John Benison.

An information technology grant received by the school in late 2005 allowed the introduction of school funded class-sets of laptops available to year 7 students beginning in 2006.

History

Lilydale High School was founded in 1919, at which stage it was housed in a single building not located on the current school grounds.

A HISTORY OF LILYDALE HIGHER ELEMENTARY SCHOOL AND LILYDALE HIGH SCHOOL

Secondary education in Lilydale commenced in 1919 when the Higher Elementary School was established immediately after the First World War. Classes were conducted in two rooms in Clarke Street. For the next 32 years the school functioned as a Higher Elementary School, with pupils transferring to Melbourne High or Box Hill High if they wished to proceed beyond Intermediate Certificate standard. However, as the district developed, the need for a High School 'with Leaving and Matriculation classes was recognised, and in February of 1951 the Lilydale High School was established with Mr L J Bowe as its first headmaster.

Classes were conducted in the original H.E.S. block - two converted army huts, two detached buildings, one of which was the original Primary School - and three rented halls. On the first day there were 298 pupils. In the latter part of 1951, four rooms generally referred to as "The Annexe" were constructed on the present site at Cave Hill. These rooms were first occupied in March, 1952. Attendance had risen to 380, with students travelling from as far away as Powelltown and Yea each day by bus.

With the school population so widely dispersed, conditions were difficult, and the need for new buildings was very great. The first stage of the present buildings was commenced in 1956 and completed and occupied in March, 1957. In January of that year the school was raised in status to Special Class School" which was the result of the rise in enrolment in the senior forms. With this change came a new headmaster, Mr C J White. Numbers had now risen to 590.

Thursday, August 29th, 1957, more than six hundred adults and the same number of children attended the official opening of Lilydale High School, which was performed by the Hon. J S Bloomfield, M.L.A., Minister of Education. A plaque erected in the foyer of the Q.J. White Assembly Hall commemorates the occasion. Already the number of bus travellers was high, possibly higher than any other High School in the State. When our school was established, 216 pupils were brought to the school daily. By 1957 there were 13 buses bringing 445 pupils daily. As a school grows in pupils and buildings, a tradition belonging to that school also grows, bearing tangible evidence of its existence. One such example was the writing of our School Song, "The Book and the Flame" with words by Miss Mahoney, a teacher in the school, and set to music by Judith Lambden, a Matriculation student of the school, with a completely new setting arranged in 1970. The motto "Respice Lucem" (Respeachay Luchem) meaning "Look to the Light", and the symbolic representation of a lighted flame or torch above an open book, was incorporated in a new school badge in 1952 replacing the H.E.S. badge and motto of earlier years, "Endeavour". The school continued to grow steadily until May 5th, 1958, when 13 of the 23 rooms were destroyed by fire of an unknown origin. Except for the Domestic Arts Wing and the original classrooms known as the Bristol Wing (both of which suffered superficial damage) the entire school was destroyed. All the school records and books including those of the pupils were burnt. It required 23 firemen working for 8 hours 30 minutes to extinguish the fire, namely: K Black, W Reid, J Brown, C.Sellars, W Phillips, E Phillips, D Phillips, A Clemann, J Briggs, R Nation, A Black, G Stewart, R Norman, N Oliver, E C Phillips, H Reddick, F Martin, K Hawkey, K Dunlop, M Waters, W Nation, L Nation, J Walker. The Country Fire Authority report stated:

When Brigade arrived building was heavily involved in centre and fire was fanned by strong wind and draught through long centre corridor. Brigade was hampered by poor water supply which could not be boosted through more than two lines (900' x 21/2'2. Fire had to be fought from three separate points. Tankers from Lilydale, Montrose, and Wandin were called to assist. Fire was controlled after 3 hours. During course offs' e, Ex-Captain, D Phillips, cut his hand which required 6 stitches. W Phillips suffered smoke inhalation.

Classes from Forms 1 and 2 were conducted in the surviving rooms, whilst Forms 3-6 were accommodated in Clarke Street, the Parish Hall, the Baptist Hall, the Court Room and the Lilydale Tennis Club rooms in Melba Park. More than 300 children worked under severe handicaps that winter. On June 2nd, rebuilding began and the Senior School occupied rebuilt classrooms on August 15th. The Cafeteria was also built at this time, opening for business on October 6th, 1958. The Cadet Unit was established the following year.

The next significant event in our steady growth was the commencement of the Assembly Hall in 1961. The hockey field and a new cricket pitch was added to the sports facilities of the school. On March 14th, 1963, the Hon. J S Bloomfield opened the new Assembly Hall.

This was not the end of the building program, however, Plans were being laid for the erection of a separate library with special study facilities. Projects were undertaken to raise adequate finance for the scheme. Because the Hall was used for a number of social occasions it was believed that a Supper Room, which could be used for other purposes during the day, would be a further valuable addition to our buildings. Specifications were drawn up and when finance was arranged, tenders were called and building commenced in 1969. Whilst this had been arranged on a local level, the Education Department decided to erect a new Science Wing containing four specialist rooms - Physics, Chemistry and two Geography rooms, plus a science preparation room and some office space. Building for these proceeded simultaneously with the Library and Supper Room. When the library had almost reached “lock-up” stage, the Education Department library Committee decided that as a result of extra money released by the Commonwealth Government to improve school libraries, our building could be in double size. The Advisory Council voted that the library be named after Mrs. Alf Chandler, who had worked tirelessly for the school since its inception. The Helen Chandler Library was officially opened on Monday, 26th October, 1970 by the Minister of Education, Hon. L Thompson, M.L.A.

Leon Bishop commenced as the school's Principal in 2006 after the retirement in 2005 of the previous school's Principal of 18 years, John Benison.

Sport

The school is known in the area for its sporting prowess, and in late 2006 was awarded the "Eastern Metropolitan Region's Most Outstanding School Achievement in Physical and Sport Education", after participating in every competition held by the Victorian Secondary Schools Sports Association, and offering its facilities to students in years 5 and 6 from local primary schools. The school also offers a PE program for disabled students. In, 2004 Lilydale High School competed in the VSSA sports program for football. They won the whole thing, making them state champions. In 2007 the football team of Lilydale came runners up from state. The competition is out of about 370 teams.

Redevelopment

As of 2004, the school is undergoing a major redevelopment to accommodate the increasing student population on the campus. It involves the demolition of large sections of the school, and the erection of new facilities throughout. The first phase of this redevelopment occurred in 2004 with the construction of a new technology and arts wing.

Announced in the May 2006 Victoria state budget, $5.65 Million (AUD) has been allocated to the school for the completion of 'phase 2' construction at the school, consisting of 15 new buildings and facilities to be completed in 2006-7 [ [http://www.starnewsgroup.com.au/story/16168 "Budget benefits for police and schools"] by Dion Teasdale, "Star News" June 6, 2006] .

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