AddressRutherglen High School is situated in Northeast Victoria servicing the townships of Chiltern, Rutherglen, Springhurst and Wahgunyah and the surrounding farming communities. The February enrolment in 2023 was 310. Approximately 59% of students travel by bus and a small but increasing percentage of students live over the border in NSW.
The school provides a challenging and balanced comprehensive curriculum with flexibility to meet the needs of each student. All students are able to participate in an environment which values and respects their achievements. Students are expected to display a commitment to improvement of skills and knowledge, develop self-discipline and initiative and respect themselves, each other, the staff and their environment.
Rutherglen High School employs 2 Principal class officers, 28 teaching staff as well as several Instrumental Music Teachers and 12 Educational Support staff with a number of these being employed on a part-time basis.
Students in Years 7 and 8 study a core curriculum based on the Victorian Curriculum. This involves courses of study in the Arts, English, French, Mathematics, Health & Physical Education, Science, Humanities and Technology. Year 9 students are able to select from a range of electives and also participate in the Future Makers program as well as experiential learning through school and community based projects. In Years 10 ¿ 12 student can select from a range of VCE units, VCE Vocational Major and the Victorian Pathways Certificate, Vocational Education and Training (VET) and School Based Apprenticeships & Traineeships (SBATS). An Applied Learning program operates at Year 10 for students with a vocational pathway in mind.
The school provides a wide range of extracurricular and enrichment programs including: excursions, inter school sport, debating, public speaking, annual musical production, instrumental music, VCE workshops and lunchtime activities. The school also operates a variety of year level camps based around a specific theme or skill set. These activities foster the qualities of leadership, initiative, independence, self-confidence, self-esteem, problem solving, decision making, resilience, team work and social skills.
The school is located on 13.95 hectares of land and provides an attractive and stimulating environment for students and community use. There are excellent outdoor sporting facilities on site including the Rutherglen High School Community Centre. The school is close to all other sporting facilities in the town, including the Shire swimming pool, and enjoys close cooperation from all sporting bodies. Students in the school have an outstanding record in interschool sport.
School Council is committed to continually upgrading the buildings and grounds. A particular emphasis is placed on upgrading resources to keep abreast with changing technology. A very successful BYOD program operates with over 90% of students participating. In 2012 $1.6 million was expended through the Trade Training Centre program to upgrade the food, wood and metal facilities and support teaching of VET subjects. The $1.6 million STEM centre was completed in October 2018. It features teaching spaces which can be quickly re-configured to support a variety of group sizes and teaching and learning approaches.
There is a very effective welfare and student management policy in place, supported by year level co-ordinators and a Student Welfare Co-ordinator. The school also has the services of a School Nurse and a doctor through the Doctors in Schools initiative. A Careers Advisor is available to help students make appropriate choices in school and beyond. School Captains, House Captains and the Student Representative Council foster student participation and responsibility.
Parental involvement is welcomed and high value is placed on the home school partnership. The school encourages and enjoys strong links with the community. Rutherglen High School is a vital and active educational institution. It provides a caring, orderly, and disciplined environment in which learning can flourish and be enjoyed.
