Minaret College
Minaret College is the largest co-educational Islamic school in South-Eastern Melbourne, Australia. Established in 1992 with only 22 students, the college now has approximately 1200 students from Prep to Year 12. The college is located at 1 Birch St, Springvale, with a new primary campus in Tivendale Rd, Officer, which was opened in 2009.
Academic program
Minaret College has produced excellent academic results, with the highest VCE score of 99.85 achieved in 2011.
Students have achieved outstanding results in World Maths Day and various State and National Maths, Science and Literacy benchmark tests & competitions. Minaret College is active in regional Debating competitions and also offers VCE Religion & Society and Texts & Traditions from the Islamic perspective.
Sports
The College has an active sports program, and is involved in interschool sports including Australian rules football, cricket, basketball and soccer. Swimming lessons for primary students are provided for water safety. The year 9/10 Boys Cricket team in 2008 had a 54-run victory over Balwyn High School to win Cricket Victoria's Super 8's state championship.[1] Recently, the College has completed an upgrade to its sports oval by laying synthetic turf.
Religious activities
The college provides Islamic studies, Arabic language classes, Friday & daily prayers and halal catered canteen. Minaret College has been an active participant in interfaith activities, such as the Building Bridges project.
Other facilities
Minaret College has a new junior Primary campus opened in 2009 with computerised interactive whiteboards in every class. The Multi-purpose Hall caters for all indoor sports and a table-tennis room and recently geared gym. A complete Wood-work room, textiles, technology and a home economics room with numerous ovens and stoves allow Middle School students to experience new skills, while a new Language Centre and Science Lab have been approved for development in 2010. Construction has been completed on stage 1 of the brand new Primary campus in Officer.Stage 2 construction is well underway.
History and governance
The College was founded by Mr Mohamed Hassan,OAM (2007 Queens Birthday Honours) in 1992 as the Islamic College of Noble Park. The Springvale campus (Whiteside P.S) was acquired in 1996. The Minaret Trust is a not-for-profit entity and the College board of parents and community volunteers meets monthly. The College is a member of the Association of Independent Schools Victoria (AISV) and a founding member of the Australian Council of Islamic Education in Schools (ACIES).
The college is commencing construction works on its new Mosque in 2014. The mosque will cater for students and guests