WA education minister Peter Collier has all but ruled out expanding the local intake at John Curtin College of the Arts, dashing the hopes of Fremantle parents.

Mr Collier told the Herald this week that despite calls from lobby group High School Options for Fremantle for the college to accept more locals, he would consider only minor tinkering: “There are always opportunities for the boundaries to be tweaked slightly, but we would like to replicate the success of John Curtin in another school, rather than changing a working model,” he says.

Ninety-five per cent of students are now enrolled under John Curtin’s “gifted and talented” streams with just five per cent coming from a narrow sliver of Freo and East Freo.

High School Options founder Traci Gamblin says an online survey her group conducted showed parents want John Curtin’s local intake increased, but Mr Collier disputes that.

“From our consultation with the community it is our understanding that the views of High School Options for Freo are the minority and do not represent the majority.

“Once we invest in these schools, it will attract more students which will increase numbers.”

But Ms Gamblin warns that her survey shows parents are worried simply amalgamating South Fremantle and Hamilton SHSs—as most believe the government is likely to do—won’t deliver the numbers to justify investing in a full suite of academic courses geared for university preparation, so many won’t enrol their kids.

“We represent hundreds of students—we just want to know how he is going to guarantee as many senior level academic courses that other schools have.”

by JESSICA ZOE ALLEN