Williamstown High School (WHS) was recently awarded a 5 Star Green Star — Education PILOT certified rating from the Green Building Council of Australia (GBCA).

It is the first high school in Victoria to achieve this rating.

Designed by Spowers Architects, the Bayview Street campus consists of 5,300 sqm of new building, including general and specialist classrooms, administration, a gymnasium, canteen and horticulture facility and all associated site works and landscaping.

The campus caters for 750 students in years seven to nine as well as 75 staff.

In 2005, the Department of Education, the Victorian Government and the Williamstown High School (WHS) community committed $11 million to redevelop a public secondary school that was to be a model school for environmental education, both in its built form and in the curriculum offered to students.

“To achieve this, the project team set out to design a campus that challenged how we think and feel about typical public school architecture. The core belief is that tight budgets and stringent design guidelines need not exclude school buildings from being beautiful and inspiring places of learning,” says Jenni Webster from Spowers Architects.

According to chief executive of the GBCA, Romilly Madew, international research has confirmed that green schools reduce operational costs, deliver better education outcomes for students and improve teacher retention.

“One review of green schools in the United States found good lighting and ventilation alone could lead to a 41.5 per cent improvement in the health of students and teachers, up to 15 per cent improvement in student learning and up to 25 per cent improvement on test scores,” Ms Madew reports.

“Not only will the students and teachers at Williamstown High School benefit from a healthier educational environment, but the school’s green design and principles create a unique learning setting which will help students to develop a greater appreciation for sustainability,” Madew says.

Steve Cook, former Principal of Williamstown High School, says “the project was undertaken at a time when there was little support for or recognition of environmental features in school buildings in Victoria. Spowers’ commitment to the school community’s vision remains as strong today as it did at the commencement of the project.”

In addition, the commitment to the project from the public realm generated corporate sponsorship from Smorgan Steel, Nylex and Bluescope.

“The investment of public money was rewarded with a quality and cost-effective development, which also engendered a sense of commercial and community responsibility,” says Webster.

“Perhaps most importantly, the greatest social dividend is the contribution this development has played in helping to educate, inspire and involve students in their local community and the wider environment,” Webster concludes.

Architecture & Design Team

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