In 1971 Hallam High School opened with three 1st Forms classes being held at Hallam State Primary School. The total number of students enrolled was ninety six.
The beginning of term two that year saw the move into the first stage of the permanent buildings. These were ‘J’ Block, ‘H’ Block, ‘F’ Block and ‘E’ Block. In 1973 stage three started with the school having grown considerably in numbers with 22 portable classrooms being utilised.
By 1975 Blocks ‘C’, ‘D’, and ‘G’ were completed and the school was ready to accommodate the 980 enrolled students. Site works continued that year with the development of the oval, hockey & soccer fields, multi-purpose courts and asphalted areas for volleyball, handball and basketball. The Gymnasium/Assembly hall opened in 1977 and remains in use today.
In the ensuing years new secondary schools opened at Cranbourne, Berwick and Hampton Park yet enrolments still increased. Proposals were made to establish new schools at Fountain Gate and Endeavour Hills and whilst they would ease the accommodation problems at Hallam, the long term viability of three separate Years 7-12 schools was questioned. The decision to form a multi-campus college came mainly from the introduction of the VCE. It resulted from the vision of it’s founding principal, Mr. Ian Chisholm. He knew that to provide a broad range of VCE units a large number of VCE students were required. He also believed that the needs of senior secondary school students were better met in the more adult environment created at a senior campus. Eumemmerring College was therefore established in July 1990. The district from Power Road to Narre Warren was originally named Eumemmerring. The first schools in the district were the Eumemmerring schools so the name of the College was an appropriate one.
The opening of the Fountain Gate Campus occurred in January 1991. In August 1992, Eumemmerring College merged with Endeavour Hills Secondary College and the new Gleneagles Campus was officially opened on site in 1996.
Eumemmerring College served its community for 16 years through it’s four campuses. However, after an extensive consultation process in 2008, the College community decided to disaggregate into four independent colleges linked in an Alliance. This decision was subsequently ratified by the Minister for Department of Education and Early Childhood Development Hon Bronwyn Pike. The Ministerial Orders established four Interim Councils for term 4 2008 and each new school commenced operation from January 1st 2009. Each school was able to set it’s own direction while having a clear commitment to a co-operative model for the delivery of senior programs. Extensive consultation regarding the senior curriculum offerings lead to 28 senior programs being offered for 2009 across three schools.
As the Senior Campus, Hallam Senior College provides an extensive and diverse opportunity to students who are from a variety of social, economic and cultural backgrounds. Students in Years 10,11 and 12 at Hallam Senior College were able to access a wide range of programs and subject offerings which include onsite VET Certificates. These programs cater for students with varied interests and aspirations including those who wish to combine workplace learning with more formal academic study.
The school’s relationship with other schools in the Eumemmerring Alliance meant that students had access to subjects offered in nearby schools as well. This provides further opportunities for students in the greater Hallam area.
In 2021, the State Government announced plans to reorganise and expand Hallam Senior College, catering for growing demand in Melbourne’s south-east and giving families certainty they will have a quality local school for their entire secondary schooling journey.
The plans see the school progressively move from a Year 10-12 to a Year 7-12 school from Term One 2023, allowing it to increase enrolments.
The plans also include a renaming and rebranding of the school as it takes on a Year 7-9 cohort, with the school’s current strengths at senior level in vocational education and its Sports Academy to be supplemented by a broader offering of VCE subjects for its growing student cohort.
Hallam Secondary College will add Year 7 in 2023, Year 8 in 2024 and Year 9 in 2025, with neighbouring secondary school zones adjusted to accommodate the new student intakes
Its partnerships with Timbarra P-9 and Doveton P-9 College will be maintained, to ensure the continuing strength of those feeder schools and deliver clear pathways into Hallam for the senior secondary years.