Principal's Report & Captain's Corner

Hot off the presses - congratulations 2027 School Captains!

We had a very strong field of candidates from this year's Year 11 cohort, and I would like to take this opportunity to thank those students for the time, thought and energy they put into their applications. Congratulations to our 2027 Captains:

They have big shoes to fill in taking ver from our 2026 captains Evie, Astrid, Lucas and Sophie, who have represented the school with distinction over the past 12 months.

What a start to Term 3!

This report will be briefer than some others, as there are some fantastic reports later in this newsletter from the many events happening around our great school.

Three recent whole school events deserve a mention:

• Coburg High School is the No. 1 government school fundraiser in the state for the Leukeamia Foundation's World's Greatest Shave 2026 - on our first attempt! Huge congratulations to those who shaved or coloured their hair, those who helped and organised (particularly Nat Stewart) and those who have generously donated to this great cause. 

   

  Thanks to the Year 11 students Noah V, Zara W, Nameera T, Alexei F & Lyric M who have put together this great montage of the event (& to Ava S for her editing).

• Coburg's Got Talent was a wonderful event, showcasing the many talents of our students in music and dance with a hugely supportive crowd of 500+ students and staff on the Deck during an extended lunchtime

• A huge congratulations to all our awards winners who were recognised at our Semester 1 Awards Assembly at the Coburg Town Hall. It was wonderful that so many parents and carers could be present to see their children being recognised for their great efforts in front of their peers.

Safer Murray Road petition

Sign the Parliamentary Petition for a safer Murray Road for vulenerable road users, including students walking, riding and catching public transport.

Many local families walk and cycle to school along this busy road corridor each day, but its four fast-moving traffic lanes, blind crests and curves make it feel genuinely unsafe.

We know that:

• up to 85% of CHS students on a typical afternoon walk, ride or catch public transport home from school
• our 2024 survey of students told us that hundreds of students traverse Murray Road each day - walking or riding home, or catching buses near the pool
• many students and families use facilities such as the Coburg Basketball Stadium, Coburg Athletics Track and the creek outside of school hours, and Murray Road and it's intersections are not safe

According to crash data compiled by the Safer Murray Road group, residents recorded 30 crashes along the corridor in 2025 alone, and at least 10 more already this year. Without protected bike lanes or safe crossing points, children and other pedestrians have to cross four lanes of fast traffic to get to school. Crashes here have also damaged bus shelters and traffic signals, adding further cost and disruption for the community. We have had several student 'near misses' - let's work on engineering and traffic calming measures to avoid serious injuries.

The new 40km/h school zone recently introduced along part of the corridor is a welcome first step, but there are benefits in further safety upgrades, like crossing points and dedicated bike lanes, to make this a genuinely safe route for children and families.

Petition closes shortly, on 31 August.

Tech Building Progress

Good progress has been made inside the building, and we remain on track for a November completion. Parents and carers visiting for this week's conferences will enjoy seeing the progress.

The landscaping works are now well underway, and we thank everyone for their patience as they need to use the eastern side of Building A to make their way to and from the portables.

End of industrial action

I would like to take this opportunity to thank all members of the school community for their support in relation to the recently concluded industrial action. 

I am pleased that the new Premier has announced that Victoria will fulfil the state's funding obligations to government schools under the Gonski plan - something which will benefit all of our students.

Advocacy for better facilities for CHS

I look forward to welcoming local candidates for the 2026 November state election to the school over coming weeks and months, to discuss School Council's priorities for our growing school, and facilities which will benefit the wider community out of school hours. 

Look out for more information about this, coming soon.

Brent Houghton

Principal

School Captain's Corner

So far Term 3 has been packed full of so much fun, with events like Coburg’s Got Talent and the World’s Greatest Shave becoming guaranteed highlights of the year.

We started off the term with Coburg’s Got Talent which was such an amazing event in which different students from across the school were able to showcase their talents. It was great to have a range of different acts from incredible music performances to an epic dance show. We also got to present the Captains’ Award to Sidney and Mateo in Year 9 for their incredible performance of River by Leon Bridges, what a fun day!

In Week 2, we had our Celebration Assemblies across all year levels in the Coburg Town Hall. It was a great opportunity to celebrate the academic and community achievements of students, with special guests like Merri-bek Councillor Nat Abboud handing out awards, and peers cheering each other on. 

On Friday of Week 4, Coburg High School students showcased their incredible effort in raising money for the Leukaemia Foundation by shaving, donating or dyeing their hair! We are so proud of the effort so many of our students put in to spread awareness and raise money for such a noble cause which landed CHS as the TOP donating government school in Victoria. The day was filled with school spirit and everyone getting behind each other on such a special occasion, it really felt like we were on one big team! 

To celebrate our final days at school, the Year 12 Student Support Team organised a 100 (ended up being 101) Days of School celebration, where students dressed up as our best centenarians! It was such a cute day, and was very nostalgic for those who dressed up in primary school to celebrate 100 days of prep. 

Overall, it’s been an excellent Term 3 and a great way for us to wrap up our time as CHS’s 2026 School Captains. We’ve had an amazing year working on projects such as these and are super excited to see what next year's Captains have planned.

Here are our wonderful SST, Elle, Katherine and Donna, our VET & VM Coordinator, Lydia, and Principal Brent dressed up for the 101 Days of School.

Sophie, Evie, Lucas & Astrid