Warrnambool College Alumni

Flashback Friday📸

To wrap up the school year we are taking a trip down memory lane to reflect on some flicks from 2010. From camps to dress up days, and everything in between. ⛺👗🕺

Who was your partner in crime? Tag them below!

Anita Bounds, Class of 1995🎓

Favourite memories from your school days?
Developing photos in the dark room and going surfing in Outdoor Ed

Your favourite teacher/s and why?
Peter McNeil - he was my Graphic Design VCE 3/4 teacher and spent time supporting and encouraging me to get a great score.

A recap of your study/career path:
Finished Year 12 at TAFE, then studied Speech Pathology and Social Work at LaTrobe University. Worked in catholic schools in Melbourne for a year. We moved to Warrnambool, then I had three kids while working at West Warrnambool PS, Brauer College and Merrivale PS as a Social Worker. On returning to Warrnambool College I worked in two roles before becoming a teacher (social worker in Wellbeing then speech pathologist in Literacy). I completed a Master of Applied Learning & Teaching at Deakin (Waurn Ponds) when we came back to school after the COVID lockdowns and learnt on the job!

What do you enjoy most about what you are doing now?
Disability Inclusion brings together all my previous study and experiences, which feels quite satisfying! The teacher aide team I work with are fabulous and they work tirelessly to support students with disabilities.

The best advice you could give to current students?
There are many career pathways you could choose. Stay true to who you are, even if you get lots of advice from the well-meaning adults around you. Find what environment or skillset works for you.

Flashback Friday📸

Today we are taking it back to our 2008 Warrnambool College dress-up days! 🎭🎉 From footy colours to flannies and even school formals, the style was next level.

Check out some of the iconic looks that graced our schoolyard—who rocked it best? Tag them below!

Alumni Profile 📝

Gault McCluggage - Class of 2003🎓

Favourite memories from your school days?
The suite of opportunities Warrnambool College provided me. Nation champions in school band competition, state level participation in table tennis and cricket, endless camps and excursions!!

Your favourite teacher/s and why?
Mr Rodney Owen for his ability to tell amazing stories linked to the curriculum. Steve Hall and Russell Skillbeck for displaying superman tendencies on school camps, carry extra bags etc. Maureen O’Keefe for challenging my values and perceptions in year 12 English. Mr Gary Homelhoff for his ability to balance firm and fair.

A recap of your study/career path:
I studied PE/Maths teaching at the University of Ballarat

What do you enjoy most about what you are doing now?
Everyday is a challenge and an opportunity to assist students to grow into stronger versions of themselves.

The best advice you could give to current students?
Just show up. Put yourself in the rooms you want to be in, initiative, kindness and resilience will allow you to go a long way. Be a good human and keep pushing for what you believe in.

Flashback Friday📸

Throwing it back to 2003! 🔙✨

Who do you recognise? Tag them below! 👀👇

⭐We're so proud of our College community ⭐

'It was the little moments': graduation extra special for school leader Eleven employees watched their children graduate.

Emma Vesey (Kelson) Class of 1996🎓

Favourite memories from your school days?
I think what I remember most about school was the opportunities that I was given to try things I had never had access to. There was always something that I was involved in. We played so much sport from local to state levels, I joined a band and learnt an instrument, camps and excursions and SRC. If you wanted to make the most of all of the opportunities they were right there.

Your favourite teacher/s and why?
There were many teachers I remember from my time at school, but there are three female teachers who played a significant role in my school years and then my future career. Kathy Stacey, Mary Pendergast and Claire Vaughan. They were all female PE teachers, but more than that they were role models as strong women who just got in and got things done, they matched it with the men in every way and did themselves everything they asked of us as students. If we were out surfing, they were in the water with us, bike riding and they were leading the pack, Outdoor Ed camps, they were there driving the buses and sleeping on the ground with us. What I learnt from them was a work ethic, a sense of just doing what needed to be done because that was what being a teacher was, you were there for the kids and to provide them with the best possible experience they could have. This is why I wanted to go into teaching, I saw what they did at school every day as a career that I wanted, a combination of my love of sport and outdoors, combined with a job that paid the rent. But what I learnt as a teacher that I didn’t know as a student, is how powerful being a PE teacher is, the opportunity to teach students who struggle in a classroom, to build a student’s confidence and belief in themselves and empower them with skills that are lifelong. The things I learnt without realising I was.

A recap of your study/career path:
I left school in 1996 and started Uni in Ballarat the following year, I completed a 4-year teaching degree in PE/English, the day I enrolled in Uni my now husband said to me when they told us to pick a second method, everyone will think because you teach PE you also teach health, so pick English, all schools need English teachers and he was right. After Uni I moved to Melbourne in 2001 and started working at a school in Essendon. It was tough for the first few years, until I found my way of teaching and started to be able to build relationships with kids. I was only 20 when I started teaching and 2 years older than some of the year 12’s in my class. In 2008, we moved back to Warrnambool with 1 child and a second on the way. I started doing CRT work at Brauer and within 24hrs of my first day I was working fulltime and 7 months pregnant. The following year I took on the role of sports coordinator for the Warrnambool and District schools, organising a swimming carnival with a 6-week-old new born and a two-year-old. I continued to work at Brauer for the next 2 years and continued the Sports role until SSV restructured. I then started teaching Sport and Rec at SW TAFE, this was two days a week and gave me a chance to try something different. The course had never been run before at TAFE and I was working with a great colleague with whom we build a VCE program at TAFE for Southwest Students – even teaching an Olympic Bronze Medallist. After TAFE I started as the manager of Action Fitness Centre, a great opportunity to build my leadership skills and work in the fitness industry. However, my 7 years of family leave was up and it was time to get back into a school. Funnily I applied for an Education Support role at Warrnambool College, when Kathy Stacey saw my application and approached me for a short-term English position. I guess it was true that everyone needs an English teacher, so in 2013 I went back to Warrnambool College, 17 years after I graduated. Here I am now in 2025 as Assistant Principal, having held a number of leadership roles along the way, including English Coordinator and Logans House Leader.

What do you enjoy most about what you are doing now?
I think what I enjoy most now is the opportunity and privilege that I have to make our school the best it can be, I work with some amazing and gifted teachers and education support staff who are passionate about public education and the opportunities that we can provide for students as they move through school. I have taught some remarkable students over the years; I am so proud to see these students in our community achieving and living their best lives. As a mum of young kids, I didn’t see myself as someone who could take on leadership roles, that I couldn’t do it all. However, I was really lucky to work with some really strong women who led the way for me, who provided me with the opportunities I have now. So, I see my role as an opportunity to pay it forward, to be that role model for not only female students but also female staff who might feel like I did a few years ago or early in their careers. My role is to support all students, to provide opportunities for those that don’t have them and to champion for those that need a champion.

The best advice you could give to current students?
Swim in the deep end and trust that you can do it, that you won’t drown and if you are struggling that someone will throw you a kickboard to help you to the edge. Life isn’t meant to be lived in the shallows, so while it’s safe, take the risks, trust your teachers and make the most of every opportunity that you can. No one in our school wants to see you fail and sometimes all you have to do is have the courage to ask for help.

🎵 Australian Music Examination's Board exams 🎵

This year, we have seven students participating in the Australian Music Examination's Board exams on November 22. These talented students are required to prepare and perform five pieces to an external examiner that are a part of the syllabus for that instrument.
Alongside the pieces, the students have to memorise a series of scales and technical exercises for their instruments.
We're so lucky to have Sian Pretty coming back to Warrnambool College to accompany our students on piano.

We would like to congratulate the following students for extending their skills on their instruments that has helped shaped their musical learning in 2025.
Lil McKellar - Clarinet - 3rd Grade
Lil McKellar - Trumpet - 2nd Grade
Cooper Richardson - Clarinet - 3rd Grade
Henry Rattray - Saxophone - 3rd Grade
Henry Rattray - Voice (Musical Theatre) - 2nd Grade
Oliver Gellert - Clarinet - 2nd Grade
Devlen Warburton - Euphonium- 3rd Grade
Archie Buchanan - Trombone- 6th Grade
Leah Boote - Saxophone - 2nd Grade

🎵Good luck to everyone for your final weeks of exam preparations!🎵
📷Pictured is Cooper Richardson on clarinet, accompanied by Sian Pretty.

It's great to see our 2024 College Captain Zoe Borthwick thriving in Warrnambool, studying Teaching at Deakin University and loving life after school! 📚🎓☕✨

🌿 Meet Zoe! She’s in her first year of the Bachelor of Education right here at our Warrnambool Campus — and she’s already brewing up a bright future ☕✨ When Zoe’s not perfecting her barista skills at Allee Espresso, she’s embracing the flexibility and fun of studying close to home. Zoe’s story is all about finding balance, following your passion, and discovering that university life can be as rewarding as it is fun 💚 #deakinwarrnambool #DeakinUniversity #deakineducation #RegionalPride #StudentStories

Exciting Opportunity 👩🏻‍⚖️🏛️📜⚖️🎓🖋️👨🏻‍⚖️

Flashback Friday📸

Legally Blonde the Musical 🎀♫

In 2016 Warrnambool College painted the lighthouse pink with their dance-tastic, rom com production!

Who can you spot? Tag them below!

Alumni Profile📝

Dave Clift - Class of 1993🎓

What year did you graduate from Warrnambool College?
1993 - the last year before the merge of two schools to create Warrnambool College

Favorite memories from your school days?
Sitting outside C wing classrooms in the garden seating area during lunchtimes, discussing all manner of important religious, political and global issues of the early 90’s with my amazing group of friends

Your favourite teacher/s and why?
Mr Swanson, my year 12 English teacher who helped open my eyes to formulate my own opinions in the world rather than simply borrowing my own families perspectives.

A recap of your study/career path:
Completed Electrical Engineering degree (via a year of volunteering for an international aid organization), worked at Shell Australia for 5 years in IT and retail sectors, went back to University to study Primary Teaching degree, worked at Woodford Primary School for 5 years (teaching grades 2-5) and now have worked at Warrnambool College for 15 years.

What do you enjoy most about what you are doing now?
Being a Principal of Warrnambool College is a bit surreal, even 10 years on from taking up the position, as I recall frequently the incredible impact the school had on me as a student over 30 years ago. I love being amongst the current students, hearing their dreams for now and the future and witnessing their own amazing growth and development as they journey through the school. It’s also a privilege to work with our incredible staff who dedicate themselves to helping our students achieve their personal best.

The best advice you could give to current students?
Have a growth mindset - put the effort into whatever is in front of you, even when its a grind and you find it challenging. It’s these moments, when you don’t give up, that hold you in good stead for the various challenges that life is and will throw at you. And be kind, to the environment, to others and to yourself.