Enrolment at Year 7
Applying to enrol at a Government School
Application for Year 7 Placement forms, will be given out by your child's primary school, in early Term 1. This form is the one that must be used to apply for Year 7 entry to Maribyrnong College and any other government secondary school. As well as providing contact details, the form asks you to list three government secondary schools, in order of preference. To manage the demand for places and manage the overall size of the College, DET guidelines must be followed in processing the Application for Year 7 Placement forms.
Applications for entry to Maribyrnong College are processed in the following priority order:
Students for whom Maribyrnong College is geographically the closest school (in a straight line measurement, front gate to front gate, or "as the crow flies"). This means the school is the nearest Government secondary school to the permanent place of their parent(s) and/or primary carer(s), being also the residence of the student for the majority of the time when the application for enrolment is made. Proof of residential status is required*.
Students who have a brother or sister already attending the College, who reside at the same permanent residential address, and who will be concurrently enrolled at the College in 2022. Please note that sibling enrolments under this priority may not be able to be accepted if the College’s local enrolment under Priority 1 (above) is at capacity.
Students who seek enrolment on specific curriculum grounds. An application must be submitted using the correct DET form provided by the primary school.
Any remaining places will be allocated on the basis of proximity of residence to the school.
Note 1. * Acceptable evidence is a copy of a current water or electricity bill or a copy of a 12 month tenancy agreement, in the name of the Parent/Guardian.
Privacy Notice. In such cases, Maribyrnong College needs to collect your personal information to establish that you reside within the school’s neighbourhood area. Your information will not be disclosed to any other organisation without your consent, or unless authorised or required by law. Copies of any documents you provide to establish your permanent residence are not retained. If you choose not to provide some or all of the information asked for, we may not be able to enrol your child at Maribyrnong College.
Note 2: False or misleading information provided to the College may result in an Application for Enrolment being set aside.
General advice on the timeline of processing Year 7 enrolments
The Timeline for 2022 Year 7 Enrolments
Application for Year 7 placement forms will be distributed by Primary Schools to families in Term 1, 2021. The completed forms will be collected by the Primary Schools in late May, 2020 and then be passed on to Secondary Schools for processing. Primary schools will advise parents and guardians of the success of the application around mid August, 2021. Primary schools act as the parent's advocate throughout the process.
Sometimes late places become available (after August) because of late change of address and parents changing their minds.
The right to appeal regarding Year 7 enrolments
Asking the school for a review of decision
Unsuccessful Parents and Guardians may ask the Principal of Maribyrnong College for a review of a decision by August 16th, 2021. A request for review must be received in writing by the Principal, and can only be considered on the grounds that the selection criteria were not appropriately applied or that the evidence presented was not appropriately considered.
The address to write to is; The Principal, Maribyrnong College, River St, Maribyrnong, 3032
Waiting List
Maribyrnong College maintains a waiting list system at Year 7, in case any positions become available. Any parent can ask to have their child added to this list.
Year 7 Applications on Specific Curriculum Grounds
Families seeking admission for students on curriculum grounds will need to complete a Curriculum Grounds Application Form, which is a short written or typed letter, and submit this with the Application for Enrolment directly to Maribyrnong College. “Curriculum grounds” means that the application must demonstrate what specific program at Maribyrnong College is not available at a neighbouring school, and why this is vital for the educational needs of the student. Please note that this process should not be used for application to the Maribyrnong Sports Academy, which is a statewide specialist program and has different selection criteria.
An example might be, a child who currently studies a language and wishes to continue it, and who cannot continue the language at their local secondary school because it is not offered there.
Please note that curriculum claims must be submitted to the school at the same time as the Application for Enrolment. Late curriculum claims cannot be considered. Curriculum Grounds Applications must accompany a Application for Enrolment with Maribyrnong College listed as first choice of secondary school. (Curriculum Grounds Applications can be posted directly to Maribyrnong College, or sent with the transition form via the Primary School)
Ease of travel from home to Maribyrnong College does not constitute a curriculum claim.
Please do not ask Principals or teachers to write open references for your child. If you need to add a school opinion, a copy of the latest school report should be adequate.
What is a "Permanent Address"?
The permanent residential address used for transition purposes is the one already registered by the family with the Primary School at the time of enrolment. To be fair to all, Maribyrnong College can only accept enrolments based on current, demonstrable, permanent addresses. The College will not accept enrolments for any Year level based on an unverified intention to move into the neighbourhood area.
How to apply for enrolment at Year Levels 8-12
Sometimes places become available at Years 8-10 because of student movement. Because of the structure of the VCE timetable, there also tend to be places available at Years 11 and 12 at the end of the year.
Families seeking enrolment at Year levels 8-12 should complete an application to enrol form available from the College. Details of reports and proof of permanent residential address will be required. Vacancies are sometimes available at Years 8-12, but the same criteria are used at these levels as apply at Year 7. (see below) The school will not accept enrolments for any Year level based on an unverified intention to move into the neighbourhood area.
For 2022, applications for Yrs 8-12 entry to Maribyrnong College will be processed in the following priority order:
Students for whom Maribyrnong College is geographically the closest school. This means the school is the nearest Government secondary school to the permanent place of their parent(s) and/or primary carer(s), being also the residence of the student for the majority of the time when the application for enrolment is made. Proof of residential status may be required*.
Students who have a brother or sister already attending the school in 2021, who reside at the same permanent residential address, and who will be concurrently enrolled in the school in 2022.
Students who seek enrolment on specific curriculum grounds. (See above)
Any remaining places will be allocated on the basis of proximity of residence to the school.
*Acceptable evidence is a copy of a current utility bill or a copy of a 12 month tenancy agreement, in the name of the Parent/Guardian.
Privacy Notice. In such cases, Maribyrnong College needs to collect your personal information to establish that you reside within the school’s neighbourhood area. Your information will not be disclosed to any other organisation without your consent, or unless authorised or required by law. Copies of any documents you provide to establish your permanent residence are not retained. If you choose not to provide some or all of the information asked for, we may not be able to enrol your child at Maribyrnong College.
The Assistant Principal responsible for Year 8 enrolments is Ms Joy Moore. Year 9 and 10 enrolments are managed by Mr Mark Jones. For Year 11 and 12 enrolments, please contact Ms Bernadette Caulfield. The College's preferred time to enrol new students is November - December, for the following year. Tours are occasionally held late in the year for families interested in Year 8-12 enrolment.