Future unclear for Mt Buller school that trained winter Olympians

Simon Hookway, wife Sharon and son Harry spend each winter on Mount Buller. (Supplied: Simon Hookway) A snow school on Mount Buller, run by Mansfield Secondary College, is facing an unclear future after a government decision not to open enrolments this winter. The Victorian Department of Education says the decision was due to a lack of interest and declining numbers, which community members dispute. Stakeholders say the school supports seasonal workers on the mountain. Link copiedShareShare articleA snow school on Mount Buller once attended by the late Winter Olympian Alex "Chumpy" Pullin faces an uncertain future due to a government decision not to open enrolments this winter. Mansfield Secondary College ran its Mount Buller Annex for students who live on the mountain and was set up to allow pupils to train on the mountain while completing their formal education. The Victorian Department of Education has chalked up the decision to a lack of interest and declining numbers, which community members have disputed. Simon Hookway, who runs a lodge on Mount Buller and travels to the mountain every winter from the northern suburbs of Melbourne, said his 13-year-old son would now have to be homeschooled. "We're having to try and sort out how we're going to have a child that is at the lodge during school time that we're trying to manage, and work at the same time, and make sure that he is learning the things he needs to learn," Mr Hookway said. Simon Hookway says he will have to homeschool his son. (ABC News: Andrew Mangelsdorf) He said it was a stressful experience trying to get clarity about enrolments and only found out a few weeks ago that the annex would not be open. "All of the families have been concerned and all of the families want the high school to go ahead," he said. "I know one [family] that isn't coming up purely because the high school isn't running." Mr Hookway said if the school did not re-open, he was not sure if he would be back next year. He said it all depended on how the homeschooling experience turned out and said the children who lived on the mountain benefited greatly from the unique setting. The school promoted the ability for students to train and receive coaching on the mountain. (Supplied: Mansfield Secondary College) "They're on a mountain that is an extreme environment, [they are] taught responsibility," he said. "They're taught to be a bit more self-sufficient and resilient." He said the only other option on the mountain was a private school, which was not affordable for many families. Liberal member for Eildon Cindy McLeish said the school was an important part of the seasonal nature of work on the mountain, which has a flow-on effect for the towns of Mansfield and Merrijig. "You have to bring people in to work and if they've got kids, they want to have somewhere for their kids to go to school," she said. She said it was also an opportunity to encourage young athletes to follow greats like "Chumpy" Pullin, Anton Grimus and Jakara Anthony, who did a lot of their training on Mount Buller. Olympian freestyle skier Anton Grimus was featured in the school's promotional video from 2015 as an ambassador for the Mount Buller Annex. Anton Grimus in a promotional video for the annex in 2015. (Supplied: Mansfield Secondary College) "It's part of a pathway to elite sports," Ms McLeish said. "So there are people who live outside of Mansfield Shire, for example, who want to come and spend the winter up there progressing their skills so that they can enter on that pathway to becoming an elite Winter Olympian." If enrolments were declining, Ms McLeish said there was a lot more that could be done to promote those elite pathways. Cindy McLeish says seasonal workers on the mountain need a place to school their children. (Supplied: Cindy McLeish) Mansfield Shire Council mayor Steve Rabie said the decision "doesn't pass the pub test" and a permanent closure would have "far-reaching and long-lasting" consequences. "Closing the Annex will make opportunities for children to experience the snow more difficult by increasing costs and travel time," he said in a statement. The council said it had met with the school and department, along with various stakeholders, to discuss the school's future. "We have offered our support to do whatever we can to help the Annex continue operating on Mt Buller in 2026 and beyond," Cr Rabie said. Steve Rabie says various stakeholders have met the school and department to discuss the annex's future. (Supplied: Mansfield Shire) "We have been told that any decision regarding the ongoing operation of the Annex would ultimately require ministerial approval." Alpine Resorts Victoria (ARV), the government entity that runs Victoria's alpine resorts including Mount Buller, said it remained "open to working collaboratively with the school". "We remain strongly supportive of the annex returning to the mountain and would be very disappointed on behalf of

Future unclear for Mt Buller school that trained winter Olympians

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