New Schools 2024 – Brinbeal Secondary College – Supported Inclusion School

Brinbeal Secondary College is a secondary supported inclusion school accommodating 2,400 mainstream students and 160 inclusion hub students. The school is equipped with enhanced capabilities and facilities, designed to accommodate a higher-than-usual proportion of students with disabilities.

Organised as a home base, community and neighbourhood model, its Learning Neighbourhoods are embedded with wellbeing hubs that support students with a range of requirements. Students with extra needs who attend the College will learn in a mainstream environment. Therefore, our design approach necessitated innovative architectural solutions tailored to ensure the success of students with diverse needs.

Location: Bunurong Country
Tarneit, Victoria
Client: VSBA
Value: $80M Stage 1
Scale: 8.4Ha
Year: 2024
Collaborators: Brand Architects
Photography: Dianna Snape
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The campus is arranged as a family of buildings, each with a unique identity that responds to its particular function. The Administration and Library Resource building provides a welcoming entrance to the school and a vibrant central meeting place for students, staff and visitors.

Inspired by the local landscape, the palette adopts warm natural materials, patterns and textures. Integrated shading devices form a strong part of the design language, while different screen colours are used for wayfinding to identify different buildings on campus.

Paramount to the design is the support of learning through quality buildings and landscape. The design provides a rich diversity of spaces to enable choice and give students a level of control of how and where they learn.
Jane Sayers
Director, DesignInc Melbourne

Recognising students’ varying academic and emotional needs, the campus design offers diverse, flexible spaces to empower students in choosing how they learn.

Key facilities include:

Learning Neighbourhoods: Enclosed, semi-enclosed, and open spaces support different teaching styles and group sizes.
STEM Building and Visual Arts Building: Collaborative hubs integrate labs, technical, and art spaces for cross-curricular engagement.
Performing Arts, Media and Food Technology: A flexible performance space with retractable seating supports school and community activities.
Community Hub: Featuring three indoor courts, fitness areas, and teaching spaces, it serves as a venue for sports, performances, and gatherings.

The response from our students and staff to the new campus has been overwhelmingly positive. The design not only meets the diverse needs of our school community but also reinforces our commitment to creating an inclusive, innovative, and sustainable educational environment. At Brinbeal Secondary College, we are proud to lead the way in fostering a space where every student can thrive.
Simon Haber
Principal at Brinbeal Secondary College