History

City Cite was established in 2001 and was the initiative of the then Headmaster of Ballarat Grammar School, Mr Stephen Higgs. He and his staff identified that the students living in regional towns would benefit from a city experience, in order to broaden their awareness of living in a large and culturally diverse, metropolitan city.

The school’s vision was to provide a base and to deliver an engaging program for Ballarat Grammar and a number of partner schools, who had a shared appetite for learning in an environment outside the school. From 2001 to 2007 City Cite was based in Swanston Street. In 2008, City Cite moved to the current premises at 474 Flinders Street, a purpose-designed floor for collaborative and flexible learning.

The rationale for developing the program was especially supported by the research from the Middle Years Research and Development (MYRAD) project, which particularly focused on the Middle Years (Years 5-9) of schooling and revealed a strong pattern of under-achievement, and disengagement from school.

That report, and a large number of other research papers, recommended changes in approach by schools and teachers to Middle Years’ education. Some schools and organisations responded to the research by developing remote campuses to host students in natural settings for extended periods of time; for some the entire Year 9 experience is separate to the main school.

The point of difference for the design of City Cite, was to immerse students into the life of the city, to increase their understanding of cultural diversity and to experience learning from stories and human interaction.

While initially the program was expected to host students and staff from regional schools, it was soon seen that students from a blend of both regional and metropolitan schools would benefit from the program and its facilities. Today, City Cite hosts about 30 partner schools and various organisations who embrace everything that our facilities and programs have to offer.