Warrnambool's King's College records a 25 per cent increase in its student numbers for 2023

Principal Allister Rouse said the college's enrolments for the 2023 school year was 337 students, compared to 291 just over a year ago.

Mr Rouse said it had increased enrolments across all areas of the college, recording a 34 per cent growth in its kindergarten, 22 per cent increase in the junior school and 21 per cent rise in its senior school.

Prior to this period, college enrolments had increased by eight to 10 per cent year-on-year for the past six years.

Mr Rouse said the latest "big increase" was the result of momentum and improvements made over the past five to six years.

"It's really encouraging to see the growth and the momentum that's happening within the college," Mr Rouse said.

"It's something we've been working towards for a long time.

"It's a slow progression to improve teaching and learning, to improve facilities and part of our five-year strategy that I commenced when I first started here in January 2017.

"We're coming to the end of that and now looking at what the next five years looks like."

He said most of the 2023 growth was from Warrnambool and surrounds, whereas during COVID-19, it was from other regional areas.

Mr Rouse attributed the increase to statewide free three and four-year-old kindergarten, ongoing improvements to facilities and grounds and the introduction of Chinese language classes at primary level.

He said the college had also introduced a learning enhancement program for students with substantial or extensive learning needs and had also developed new learning extension programs.

The college's early learning centre will be expanded to cater for the increased kindergarten growth with preliminary work underway.

It has bought a new 39 seat bus to transport its Timboon students and to use for school excursions.

He said families were looking for Christian values and curriculum that supported their own values and appreciated its small class sizes and quality teaching.

The college released its masterplan in August which included significant building upgrades to cater for the city's predicted growth over the next 30 years.

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