New Benalla campus opens, bringing education closer to home

By Simon Ruppert

Mar 3, 2025

Member for Northern Victoria Jaclyn Symes, Benalla Campus of Wangaratta Specialist School principal Alysha Jackson, students Isabelle and Zak, school council president Ruth Crawford and learning specialist Ryan Hargreaves. Photo by Simon Ruppert

The opening of a brand new, local campus means Benalla students will no longer have to travel to Wangaratta for school.

Hold tight - we’re checking permissions before loading more content

The Benalla campus of the Wangaratta Specialist School welcomed students on the first day of term in 2025.

And on Friday, February 28, the school hosted Member for Northern Victoria, Jaclyn Symes, to officially open the facility.

Principal Alysha Jackson said she was excited to see the school full of students.

“It's been a long time in coming,” she said.

“It's wonderful to honour the occasion.

“We had the students start at the beginning of this year, and we’ve got a full cohort of staff on site.

“The kids are settled in. There's some really cool things that they can use in here that are similar to what they can use in Wangaratta.

“They’ve got breakout spaces and accessible facilities.

“We're just working on our playground, and it’s all very exciting.”

Ms Jackson said one of the big benefits is for parents who no longer have to get students up and ready to go to Wangaratta in the morning.

“They can sleep in a bit more now,” Ms Jackson said.

Ms Symes said students with special needs should have the same opportunities as every other student in Victoria – and the State Government is building the facilities necessary to make that happen.

“We’re giving every Victorian child the best opportunities - and that starts with making sure every student has the facilities they need to learn and grow, no matter what school they attend,” Ms Symes said.

"I am thrilled to be touring the new campus at Wangaratta District Specialist School today.

“These state-of-the-art new buildings are ensuring students from across our region get the very best education close to home.”

The school is located on Clarke St, next to Benalla P-12 College’s Faithfull St campus.

Wangaratta District Specialist School services the North Eastern region of Victoria, catering for students with mild to severe intellectual and associated disabilities from five – 18 years old.

The school services Benalla, Myrtleford, Ovens and King Valleys, Rutherglen, Wahgunyah, and Wangaratta districts, transporting students via bus.

It has received close to $7million in funding over the past five years for the project.

This significant project includes a new single-storey building for local students to learn from, with curved masonry walls and a structural steel frame and roof structure.

The large building includes five classrooms, an art and science space and a PE room.

The campus also houses office and administration spaces, bathroom amenities, junior and senior outdoor play areas with modern playgrounds and landscaping.

The Government has invested $16.9 billion over the past 10 years to build new schools and deliver more than 2200 school upgrades − supporting more than 26,000 jobs in construction and associated industries.

The Victorian Budget 2024/25 invested $947.7 million to build 16 more new schools – completing the promise to deliver 100 new schools between 2019 and 2026.