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Gladstone Park Secondary College

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Gladstone Park Secondary College is a public state school in Melbourne, Australia, founded in 1975.

The college's emblem and slogan.


It is situated in Melbourne's north-western suburbs and is the biggest in the region. It is a multicultural melting pot with students of over 30 ethnicities, speaking over 50 languages attending. A quirk that the student body has been aware of for over three years is that there is not one student that has naturally blonde hair.

The school has around 1500 matriculated students, a figure which has remained constant for over a decade. Over 25% of students are refugees and/or amputees, the highest of any public state school in Australia.

When it first opened, Gladstone Park Secondary School (GPSC) quickly became the largest school in terms of matriculated students within a 10km radius, a position which it still holds today. Its uniforms were brown and gold up until the early 1990's, when the school council introduced a uniform consisting of a white polo shirt with a green logo and grey cotton shorts in summer for boys and a green chequered dress for girls. The winter uniform consists of grey cotton pants and a green cotton jumper with a yellow emblem for both boys and girls. In winter there is also the option of a blue bomber jacket, which students are aware comes with no anti-graffiti policy. It is not uncommon for students, especially males, to write in POSCA or black texta, the ethnic minority which they feel most represents their needs.

It is known throughout the state for its extensive History, Arts and Home Economics programs. and is the only school in Melbourne to offer "Renaissance Malta" as a VCE subject, and to teach their year 7-9 students millinery, forgery (steel working) and husbandry compulsorily.

It has a large sports program which has seen over 20 teams win state championships in sports such as basketball and badminton and five national championships, one in wrestling and four in European Handball.

The school has several teachers, 11 of which are male and four of which are female, giving it the highest proportion of male teachers out of any public state school in Melbourne.

The school has a special partnership with the local TAFE institutes, where most GPSC graduates enroll to do apprenticeships or hair dressing diplomas. Centerlink has a permanent office inside the school grounds, which students have regular access to and the school also employs a full time criminal lawyer to help the student body with their day to day needs.

GPSC has been in the media several time. Its first major appearance was in 1996 when 19 students were found to be illegal immigrants. Then in 1999 two students were found to be over the age of 30 and in 2005, three year 12 students were convicted of funding a terrorist organisation.


The current principal of Gladstone Park Secondary College is Ken Thompson, who has held the position for 31 years.

Notable Ex-Students

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