I attended Horsham High School in the late 1970s and early 1980s, and since leaving have not had any significant involvement with the college as it is now known, nor had I really taken any notice of the lack of improvements or replacement of building that has not occurred since I left.

Now that I have a daughter who attends the college, I am saddened and disappointed at the lack of maintenance-replacement of the buildings on both the senior site and the junior site since I was a student.

It would appear – from I admit a relative outsider’s point of view – that this college is suffering ‘death by a thousand cuts’.

This opinion is based upon:

The poor physical state of facilities on both sites.

The loss of the Middle School associate principal, who was a highly respected member of staff, which I understood was due to budgetary restrictions.

The loss of overall college space for the new Special School on the senior site and the Wimmera Trade Training Centre on the junior site.

I would expect that as the only government secondary education facility within the city, whose pupils come from four government funded primary schools, it would deserve more priority and funding than what it appears to have received during the past 30 years.

Finally, rather than finishing this letter with a negative, I would like to acknowledge the excellent effort that I believe the staff are doing under what must be challenging conditions.

My daughter’s first year at the college was a smooth and successful transition to secondary schooling thanks in no small part to the staff and their conscientious dedication.