Griffith alternative high school moves into new Kookora Street location ahead of open day

An alternative high school in Griffith has moved into a much larger site in Kookora Street, giving it the capacity to take in more students.

Western Riverina Community School (WRCS) opened in 2018 in Hickey Crescent as a small sub-entity of the adult vocational learning facility Western Riverina Community College (WRCC).

It’s gradually grown since then and currently offers a fee-free education to 35 students in years 9 to 12.

Its new stand-alone site includes more classrooms with reverse-cycle air conditioning, a kitchen facility and an outdoor learning space.

“We’ve often had a waitlist but now we’ve got space we can welcome more students,” head teacher Jasmine Dossetor said.

The campus will host an open day at 4:30 pm on Wednesday, 13 November, when prospective students and their parents can tour the new facility and find out whether the school may suit them.

“The only thing we have to do is build a carpark, we need to source money for that,” principal David Martin said.

“Originally, we had the project completely funded but the dramatic inflation we have had ate up the budget for the carpark. We got our development application signed off to do everything inside the gate and we have until 2028 to finish the other works.”

Mr Martin dispelled a few myths about what the school does and whom it teaches.

“We take in students that haven’t been able to find success in mainstream schools. We have some that are academically talented but they haven’t been able to operate in that space,” he said.

“We have a mix of students; some very bright who score highly [on standardised test] and some not as academic.

“It’s not a school for naughty kids … the students are very respectful of the space they have … we haven’t had any fights or lockdowns.”

WRCS has about 10 students in each class, with one teacher and two teacher aides.

“Because there’s a high staff-to-student ratio, we have a lot of eyes that can address a problem before it becomes an issue,’ Mr Martin said. ”If someone is being bullied, we go into action mode straight away.

“There are a lot of people who think coming here would be social suicide. It certainly isn’t, there’s been some really good friendships that’s been developed.”

Ms Dossetor explained why someone not suited to a mainstream school might thrive at WRCS.

“A lot of our students come with intense bullying issues from mainstream schools, so will start not attending,” she said.

”When they’ve had those sorts of issues, they can be nervous about going out in public, so we can build up those skills again and take them out to shops etc, and give them more targeted support.”

Mr Martin said he was proud of the high percentage of his students who had gone on to secure apprenticeships and employment after graduating.

“We are focused more on outcomes for students rather than test scores,” he said.

You can find out more about the school, or donate to its building funding, via the WRCS website.