Principal's Report

VESS strives for excellence, equity and access of education.

Earlier this week, I explored the future of VESS at a strategic workshop in Creswick.  Many of our community are unaware of the fact that we are proud members of VESS and I thought it was timely to highlight its importance. 

The Victorian Ecumenical System of Schools Ltd (VESS) was first formed in 1996 to support member schools in executing their financial, operational and compliance obligations. VESS now comprises 17 independent coeducational schools at which over 16,500 students are enrolled.  The System collects and distributes in excess of $151 million in government funding for its schools, adding value in the process, and offering financial security.  The members of VESS are diverse, located in outer metropolitan areas and regional centres across Victoria. The schools that make up VESS are drawn together by their commitment to respect one another’s uniqueness, and their common goal to continuously improve their educational offerings for the benefit of their students and communities.  More importantly they are the voice of co-education, encouraging valuable collaboration between schools, resulting in a vibrant, open-minded, educational community.

Since I first commenced, I believed VESS to be critical to our financial future.  However, there is in addition a mutuality of care existent amongst the member schools that is very rare within other educational organisations.  Hence, I now believe that our ongoing membership is crucial to accomplishing our focus of seeking the best for and from every student. 

Dr Andrew Hirst