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Atwell College is an independent public secondary school in the southern Perth suburb of Atwell, Western Australia.

Overview

Atwell College achieved Independent Public School status in 2011. The college's first principal was Steven Crake; he was succeeded in 2012 by Noel Woodley and in 2019 by Peter Rudrum. The college provides specialist programs for rugby and netball. Extra curricular programs are also offered in areas of academic extension, music, dance and drama. The college had an enrolment of 1,261 in Semester 1, 2022.

History

On Tuesday, 23 November 2004, then Education and Training Minister Alan Carpenter announced a $23million secondary school to open in Atwell on the corner of Bartram Road and Brenchley Drive in January 2008. The college was to cater for students from the Atwell, Harmony and Jandakot primary schools, with an estimated 200 students expected to enrol at the college for the 2008 school year.

Stage 1

Construction of Atwell Stage 1 commenced on 3 February 2007. Due to very tight timeframes the completion of Atwell Stage 1 was required to be undertaken in two stages in order to open the Kim Beazley Learning Community (KBLC) and the Year 7 Learning Communities for the start of the 2008 school year. This meant that the KBLC and the Year 7 Learning Communities were operational before Stage 1 was completed. On Friday, 27 February 2009, then Education Minister Liz Constable officially opened Atwell College. Stage 1 costed a total of A$37.6 million and catered for 680 mainstream students in Years 7–9 and high needs education support students. Stage 1 included a performing arts centre, cafeteria, resource centre, student services centre, gymnasium, administrative block and four learning centres. Atwell College by JCY Architects and Urban Designers received an entry for the Department of Treasury and Finance Building Management and Works Award in July 2009 from the Australian Institute of Architects State Awards.

Stage 2

Construction of Atwell Stage 2 commenced on 6 December 2010. The college introduced a Year 11 cohort in 2011 and then a Year 12 cohort in 2012. Atwell Stage 2 was completed on 1 January 2012 to house the additional students costing a total of A$21 million. In this second stage included another learning centre, renovations to already existing buildings from Stage 1 and a two-level senior learning building equipped with classrooms, materials technology workshops and studios, a lecture theatre and IT infrastructure supporting laptop learning. While this newly built two-level senior learning building was originally designed to be used for students in Years 11 and 12, it was later made available to all cohorts. Complications with the site were unstable soils which required the installation of 262 screw piles before construction of Stage 2 could commence.

Fire

On 27 March 2017, a fire was reported at 2:45 am in the college's Library and was later found to have been started in the air-conditioning unit above the building. Damage was estimated at over A$1 million, including damage to adjacent buildings such as the Cafeteria and Student Services which suffered damage to internet and phone lines. The fire was believed to have been deliberately lit, with signs of forced entry into the building. The WA Department of Education assisted with recovery. The college had been offered assistance from the wider Perth library community as well.

Local intake area

With the completion of Hammond Park Secondary College in late 2019, the WA Department of Education revised Atwell College's intake area, removing 3 feeder primary schools and excluding residents in Hammond Park, Aubin Grove and Honeywood from enrolling at the college. Atwell College enrols students in Years 7–12 from the suburbs of Atwell, Success, Treeby and Banjup. Feeder primary schools are Atwell Primary School, Harmony Primary School, Success Primary School and Jandakot Primary School.

Student Numbers

Academic ranking

Western Australia school ATAR ranking

See also

• List of schools in the Perth metropolitan area

References

1. ^ "Atwell College (4184)". Schools Online. Retrieved 18 May 2022.
2. "Alphabetical List of Western Australian Schools" (PDF). WA Department of Education. 2020. Retrieved 15 May 2020.
3. "Atwell College - Location/Transport". Atwell College. 2020. Retrieved 15 May 2020.
4. "Extra curricular". Atwell College. 2016. Retrieved 17 May 2020.
5. "New secondary school for Atwell community". Government of Western Australia. 2004. Retrieved 18 May 2020.
6. "Project : ATWELL SECONDARY SCHOOL & KIM BEAZLEY SCHOOL". Cordell. 2008. Retrieved 18 May 2020.
7. "In the architects words". JCY Architects. 2009. Retrieved 12 May 2019.
8. "Atwell community welcomes opening of state-of-the-art college". Government of Western Australia. 2009. Retrieved 18 May 2020.
9. "Room for everyone". Education Today. 2009. Retrieved 12 May 2019.
10. "Awards". ArchitectureAU. 2009. Retrieved 17 May 2020.
11. "Project : ATWELL COLLEGE - STAGE 2". Cordell. 2012. Retrieved 18 May 2020.
12. "Capital House Australasia - Education". Capital House Australasia. 2012. Retrieved 12 May 2019.
13. "Atwell College - Facilities". Atwell College. 2016. Retrieved 12 May 2019.
14. "Completion of Atwell Secondary College moves a step closer". Government of Western Australia. 2010. Retrieved 18 May 2020.
15. "Atwell College Stage 2". Universal Constructions. 2012. Retrieved 18 May 2020.
16. "Perth school library destroyed by fire". SBSNews. 2017. Retrieved 18 May 2020.
17. Foster, Brendan (27 March 2017). "Fire causes $1 million damage to school south of Perth". WA Today. Retrieved 12 May 2019.
18. Luff, Bryce (27 March 2017). "Atwell College fire: police to view CCTV and doorknock homes to find answers". Cockburn Gazette. Retrieved 18 May 2020.
19. "South Perth Libraries assist Atwell College after fire". City of South Perth. 2017. Retrieved 18 May 2020.
20. "Student Numbers Trends Atwell College". www.det.wa.edu.au. Retrieved 1 May 2024.
21. "Year 12 Student Achievement Data 2019" (PDF). School Curriculum and Standards Authority. 2019. Retrieved 16 May 2020.
22. "Year 12 Student Achievement Data 2018" (PDF). School Curriculum and Standards Authority. 2018. Retrieved 12 May 2019.
23. "Year 12 Student Achievement Data 2017" (PDF). School Curriculum and Standards Authority. 2017. Archived from the original (PDF) on 19 March 2018. Retrieved 12 May 2019.
24. "Year 12 Student Achievement Data 2016" (PDF). School Curriculum and Standards Authority. 2016. Retrieved 12 May 2019.

External links

• Atwell College's website

• Educational institutions established in 2008
• Public high schools in Perth, Western Australia
• 2008 establishments in Australia