New principal, Stuart Bott and School Council president Rob Alexander prepare to future-proof Yarrawonga College P-12.
After years of lobbying, Yarrawonga College P-12 has been granted $9.29 million in the 2026/27 state budget for the next stage of works designed to bring the school together as one campus.
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The announcement coincides with the appointment of new principal, Stuart Bott who came to Yarrawonga after seven years leading Leopold Primary School near Geelong.
Mr Bott has big shoes to fill after the departure of Damien Keel, the school’s principal for almost 10 years, and deputy principal before that.
Mr Keel was instrumental in the school’s consolidation and in securing funding for its continued development.
Stuart Bott and his wife had always planned to eventually move to Yarrawonga.
They have one daughter in Wodonga and another in Echuca so logistically it made sense.
But when the position became available, he saw it as a “fantastic opportunity”.
He said he knew some of the school’s history and understands the complexities after leading the school in Kyabram through a similar process of consolidation.
“To be in a place where I can contribute, and also be close to family, that was a real win,” Mr Bott said.
“I have a good understanding of the change process and how to bring people along the journey.”
After 40 years as a teacher, bringing people on board frames his approach to leadership, and something he learned from one of his own primary school teachers.
“I thought I was going to become a farmer, but he changed my mind,” he said.
“He was a role model, and I wanted to be like that person; he made a difference to me, and I wanted to make a difference to others.
“He led me to being a leader as well as a teacher, and everything I do as a leader, I make sure that’s it’s for the kids; they are what drives me.”
Bringing people on board the journey, he says, is the necessary foundation for a good structure, strategy and plan - taking the time to do things and not rush, and to make sure everybody knows and understands the why.
“One of the challenges I've seen over the many years I've been a principal and a teacher is that the more we know, the more difficult the craft becomes,” he said.
“The more information we have, the more we know and I guess the more technology has become available, the challenge is what we have to adjust to as time moves on.
“The more we understand about what kids’ needs are, and the adjustments we need to make for them; it’s not a one-approach-fits-everyone; teachers and principals need to pivot.
“The more we understand about what kids’ needs are, and the adjustments we need to make for them; it’s not a one-approach-fits-everyone; teachers and principals need to pivot.
“What I’ve seen that the staff do really well here, are those relationships with the kids, and the parents, and I think that’s where it starts.”
Hearing Stuart Bott talk about his approach only further reaffirms new School Council president, Rob Alexander that they made the right decision in hiring him.
Rob has two children in grades one and five and knows his children’s education is in safe hands.
He and his wife moved to Yarrawonga from Melbourne six years ago and were struck by the role the school played in the town.
Along with Sacred Heart College and Mulwala Primary School, Yarrawonga College P-12 is an integral part of the community, and as a member of the selection panel for a new principal, Rob said that sense of community and the school’s place in it was what they were looking for.
“What we cared about was that someone would come into the principal’s chair and be that community connector that we thought the school really needed,” he said.
“The school would be one of the biggest employers in Yarrawonga and then you add more than 1,000 kids and it’s a massive part of the town.
“At the centre of that needs to be someone who can bring people together, and at his interview, Stuart really showed me that he understood that it was about the community, not just the school.
“We felt like we had this really special person who had landed in our lap.”
With $9.23 million now assured, concept planning for the next phase of campus development are underway.
Under new leadership, and with guaranteed funding, the focus is now firmly on future proofing the school for its 1,050 students and 150 staff.
Plans for a new science block, with classrooms and integrated learning space, library, toilets and prep areas are now being considered.
“That will happen through the concept drawings and the discussions we’re having with staff,” Mr Bott said.
“We are in the conceptual stage and want to make sure it’s future proof, but now that we have funding we can move into what it’s actually going to look like.”
And though Rob Alexander says he’d love to break ground this year, there’s still no way of knowing when the students will be using their new chemistry lab.
But momentum is in the air, and a feeling that the work of Damien Keel will progress under the school’s new principal.
“Yarrawonga College P-12 is a really good school,” Mr Bott said.
“That's something I've that I've really connected to, that this is a terrific school with a wonderful future.
“The people have been fantastic and I'm really so privileged and very grateful to be here.”
In a coloured box
Ovens Valley MP, Tim McCurdy, says confirmation that Yarrawonga College P–12 will receive $9.29 million from the state budget brings some long-awaited progress after more than a decade of advocacy.
Mr McCurdy said he has been fighting for the completion of Stage 3 since 2014, with the project now stretching beyond 15 years.
“It’s a relief to finally see funding committed after so many years of pushing for this project,” Mr McCurdy said.
He said estimates in 2022 had put the cost of completing Stage 3 at $18 million, with current projections now expected to exceed $20 million and that he would continue to seek clarity from the Victorian Government to ensure the project was properly completed.
“We need to make sure this funding finishes the job, not just part of it,” he said.
