Heywood and District Secondary College is a small rural school that lies 30km north of Portland and approximately 72km from the South Australian Border. Our students travel from outlying areas from Dartmoor, Bessiebelle to Tyrendarra. The Heywood community, situated near the newly recognised Budj Bim National Park, has a strong indigenous connection to country. We ensure that our staff undergo Cultural Understanding and Safety Training (CUST) to encourage these connections to strengthen and maintain. Our cherished relationship with Winda-Mara sees local elders working closely with the school to support the local Aboriginal children and our teaching of our local Gunditjmara Language and Culture Program. We strive to be valued as an innovative and outstanding College that promotes partnership between families, staff and the wider community. We support and empower students to accept responsibility for personal and academic growth and provide a safe and caring environment that allows all students to achieve their potential. We pride ourselves in the knowledge that each student is well-known to staff and that positive student-staff relationships prosper throughout the College. The local Agriculture and Horticulture industry is an employer of a large percentage of our community and as a result we are continuing to establish a strong primary industry curriculum base. As a part of this we have a prosperous school farm rearing chickens and sheep and growing vegetables. We are also creating a community garden.
