The campus adjoins the Vines Road Community Centre which requires the payment of fees for students enrolled in its courses.[1][2]
History
The college was created in 1985 from the merger of three existing secondary schools: Geelong West Technical School, Bell Park High School, and Bell Park Secondary College.[3][4]
For some time, Western Heights College had three campuses: the Junior Years Campus (formerly Minerva campus and Barton Campus) for years 7, 8 and 9, and 10. the Senior Years Campus (formerly Quamby Campus) for years, 11 and 12, located in the suburbs of Herne Hill and Hamlyn Heights respectively.
In 2010, the City of Greater Geelong (COGG) appointed landscape architectsCapacity Consulting to "develop a Master Plan for Hamlyn Park Recreation Reserve which incorporated new facilities at the Vines Road Education Redevelopment Project – incorporating Western Heights College". The new facilities included sports grounds and netball courts with Stage 2 including a basketball stadium.[5]
In 2011, the school began relocating to a single location on Vines Road, formerly the site of the Department of Human Services Barwon South Western Regional Office and, before that, the Geelong Teachers' College. The Barton campus closed at the end of the 2008, and the completion of stage one allowed Years 7 to 9 to start school at the new site at the beginning of July 2011.[6]
In 2020 the school opened its high-performance centre to serve its Specialist Sports Program.[7]
In 2020 the school started its Specialist Sporting Program for basketball. In 2021, AFL was introduced. Further sports programs were introduced; Netball (2022), Soccer (2023) and an Aspiring Athlete Program in 2024.[8]
In 2022 the Victorian Government committed to delivering a $7.5 million competition-grade gymnasium to replace the ageing offsite Quamby avenue basketball gym.[9]
Community College
When the school was opened the college had pioneered "learning communities" of 100 to 120 students - a step away from the traditional arrangements of classrooms.
The college shares community facilities with the public. These facilities include: Community Library, Vines Road Community Centre itself, Seniors Club and sporting. These facilities are owned and co-managed by the City of Greater Geelong in conjunction with the college's management.[10][11][12][13]
Western Heights College/Vines Road Community Centre experienced severe flooding in 2016.[14]
Sport
Specialist Sporting Program
Over 530 student are enrolled the Specialist Sporting Program in 2024.
^"WESTERN HEIGHTS COLLEGE". School Choice. 28 October 2013. Retrieved 2 April 2020. ...with a community focus on the Vines Road Campus, supports learning in the 21st century.
^"HAMLYN PARK RECREATION RESERVE MASTER PLAN Part 1 September 2010". 2010. Archived from the original on 26 March 2012. Retrieved 23 January 2020. The City of Greater Geelong (COGG) appointed Capacity Consulting to develop a Master Plan for Hamlyn Park Recreation Reserve...The Hamlyn Park Recreation Reserve Master Plan has taken into consideration the changes that are occurring in the area through the development of the Vines Road Redevelopment Project - incorporating Western Heights College that is currently being constructed. The new facilities that have been incorporated in the Vines Road Education Redevelopment Project include a new sports ground and two netball courts. Stage 2 of the project will also include a basketball stadium.{{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
^"Western Heights College". Learning Environments Australasia ABN 26 108 413 074. 2016. Retrieved 24 August 2019. This makes Western Heights College unique....LEARNING COMMUNITIES OF 100-120 STUDENTS..There are no classrooms with 25 students and one teacher....These communities can operate independently and each learning community has their own...Shared Community facilities are in the school and are open to the public. They include: Community Library, Vines Road Community Centre, Seniors Club, Sporting facilities and a central Civic Plaza.
