Flagship Education and Training Precinct Now Open in Melbourne's Inner South

The Hester Hornbrook Academy’s three Prahran-based classrooms for young people who have disengaged from the education system

At age 22, Dakota is back at school after having her first child. She is working on completing her VCAL by the end of this year and wants to pursue further studies in Social Work, Counselling or Finance.

Dakota is a student at The Hester Hornbrook Academy’s “young mums” classroom, housed in a new purpose-designed education precinct in Prahran.

On Tuesday 24 April, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister for Education, Ms Judith Graley MP officially opened the campus, based at the Melbourne Polytechnic precinct in Prahran. The campus includes three new classrooms and the recently relocated HEAT (Hospitality Employment and Training) program.

The Hester Hornbrook Academy provides supportive, flexible education to reconnect young people with schooling who may have been disengaged due to periods of homelessness and other complex barriers to education participation.

Principal Dave Wells said the opening of the flag-ship site for The Hester Hornbrook Academy was particularly exciting, and a solid example of a positive and successful coming-together of multiple community organisations and government partners. “We do not exist without our community partners,” Dave said.

 “This site is a testament to the educational vision we’ve established at Melbourne City Mission,” Dave Wells said. “This is a serious educational space and it envisages a different and positive future for flexible learning and the students we enrol.”

Local government, law enforcements and other community representatives came together to celebrate the opening and to hear from young people who have benefited from the Academy’s flexible approach to education.

“We are excited by the opportunities presented by this new, purpose built space, and of continuing to work with our key partners: The City of Stonnington, Melbourne Polytechnic, William Angliss and others within our community.”

“The Prahran campus is the next step in facilitating The Hester Hornbrook Academy to grow its work in re-engaging young people who are disengaged from education. We are serious about enabling all young people, regardless of backgrounds and barriers to engage in supportive education settings, whilst working towards achieving their positive futures,” Dave Wells said.