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From there to here and beyond at Clunes
‘Wesley at Clunes’ has become such an indelible part of our students’ educational experience that it seems remarkable the program has only been around for two short decades. Dan Lukies takes us back to the beginning and leads us through the years to the next significant development in the Clunes journey.
Twenty-two years ago, Principal David Loader and the Wesley College Council made the extraordinary decision to set up the ‘Wesley at Clunes’ program, building a residential campus in the middle of the former gold mining town of Clunes. Although Clunes was not the first Year 9 program to be conceived and built, those that came before were focused on placing students in secluded locations, away from home and the wider community, to experience isolation and the outdoors during a time of transition from childhood to young adulthood.
Contrary to this approach, the Clunes campus was set up at the heart of a close-knit community. The vision from the very start was for the program to be ‘of’ the community and part of the fabric of the town. Each group that comes to Clunes, for the term they spend there, are custodians of the ongoing commitment and place that Wesley College has in the Clunes community. These connections help shape the character of our young people at a crucial and informative time in their lives, and it a pleasure to see this demonstrated amongst every group that attends Clunes.
The vision needed to conceptualise this program is remarkable and we can see now, with 22 years of accumulated experience, the dramatic impact that the program has had on the development of our students. The way that students embrace the opportunity of ‘learning to live with’ during their time at Clunes has come to shape their experience as a Wesley student. The bonds formed between students have proven to be life-long and enduring, as a current student articulated so well in their Clunes reflection:
‘I am extremely grateful for all of the new connections and friendships that I have made across the term. I have developed so many strong friendships with people that I wouldn't want to lose beyond Clunes.’
The ties that come from belonging to a community are strong and it is always heartening to hear stories of these enduring connections. I recently had a parent share a story about their son, now an OW, who had just completed the Melbourne Marathon with other students they met at Clunes. This was also the first place they had tried running. The development of lifelong healthy routines and friendships is perfectly captured by this example. I wonder if those who conceived Clunes could have imagined the sorts of connections and impact the program would have on every Wesley student who had the good fortune to attend.
Communal ‘pit area’ in one of the new student houses
New general learning space
General purpose classrooms (foreground) and demonstration kitchen (background)
While we reflect on the evolution and growth of the Clunes program to this point, now is a time of excitement and anticipation for the future. The finishing touches have been made to the Clunes Redevelopment Project and we are all excited about how this will influence the further evolution of the Clunes program. This striking development, designed by William Boags Architecture, stays true to the original design of the Clunes campus, while respecting the heritage of Clunes and the ‘Wesley at Clunes’ program. At the same time, the Clunes curriculum has been adapted and extended to make the most of these amazing facilities. Staff from Clunes and across all Wesley campuses have worked collaboratively with internationally renowned educational specialist, Thom Markham, to create and implement Languages, Mathematics and the Community Project into the ‘Wesley at Clunes’ curriculum.
Included in this development project are purpose-built design, technology and art studios that will allow students to further explore their creativity and practical problem-solving skills. Students will use these facilities throughout the regular curriculum at Clunes while also being able to use the equipment and facilities to design, create and implement their Community Projects.
The Community Project at Clunes is a major piece of curriculum design that will see students work in groups to improve communities that they identify with. Completed under the IB Middle Years Program (MYP) framework, students will take the central importance of ‘community’ to the action stage, making and creating real solutions in our new state-of-the-art facilities.
While the opportunities for learning at Clunes continue to grow through the development of the buildings and extension of the curriculum, the heart and essence of Clunes remains the same. The opportunity for Wesley students to experience independence and ‘learning to live with’ while immersing themselves in a strong, rural community continue to drive and guide all we do.
We look forward to sharing the Clunes redevelopment soon, with the official opening scheduled for Sunday 20 November, the day after the famous Clunes Agricultural Show.
Dan Lukies is the Head of Wesley at Clunes