Twenty years of experiential learning at Clunes
Important update:
Our Wesley at Clunes 20-year anniversary celebrations scheduled for 22 March have been postponed as a containment measure to minimise the spread of COVID-19. This is a precautionary measure only: as at 16 March, there have been no reported cases of COVID-19 in the Clunes township or wider area. We apologise for any inconvenience caused. Details of a new date for the celebrations will be shared as soon as they have been confirmed.
It’s 20 years since the first Year 9 students attended Wesley at Clunes. We look back at our pioneering experiential learning program – and forwards to the next chapter.
For 20 years, our Year 9 students have participated in our unique eight-week residential learning program in the Victorian goldfields town of Clunes, and we’re celebrating – on 22 March.
The Clunes program is transformative, and many senior students and OWs cite their Clunes experience as a highlight of their time at Wesley. Each term, approximately 90 students from all three campuses are immersed in a unique ‘learning village’ that fosters self-confidence, independence and a sense of community through shared living, community engagement, and social and emotional learning opportunities.
According to Principal Nick Evans (OW 1985), the Clunes program plays a pivotal role in preparing students for life. ‘Clunes is all about helping our Year 9 students to develop real life independence and experience, while living in community,’ he says. ‘Clunes helps them to learn about themselves in relation to others, and to develop their collaborative, interpersonal and social skills and to discover and embrace who they are. Clunes is all about learning to know, learning to do, learning to live with and learning to be, the Wesley College vision statement, that underlies our approach to education.’
In the beginning
When David Loader OAM, Wesley’s 15th Principal, arrived in 1997, he wanted to establish a Year 9 program that focused on experiential learning, practical involvement, community engagement and interpersonal relationships, all a key part of learning in the Middle Years Program (MYP) at Wesley. The Wesley at Clunes curriculum features an IB MYP Interdisciplinary Unit encompassing Social and Emotional Learning, The Arts, Individuals and Societies, Design, Physical and Health Education and Service Learning experiences designed to develop the whole person.
‘I’m a strong believer in the power of the residential experience. We wanted the Wesley at Clunes experience to be a rite of passage for our Year 9 students that enabled them to see themselves within a community context, supported by adults who can help them understand the various cultures of which they are members,’ he says. ‘At the forefront for me was the idea of a village: a learning experience that enables students to engage differently with their personal and social education, learning about history in a historic setting, about geography by walking it, about the environment by taking care of it – all as part of the wider Clunes community.’
For Warrick Mitchell, a member of the College Council at the time and President from 2003 to 2010, the idea of a learning village began to take shape when fellow Council member Daryl Jackson AO (OW1953) suggested locating the dedicated Year 9 off-campus program in a small town. ‘Daryl was born in Clunes, where his father was a local bank manager, and I believe he had Clunes in mind when he made the suggestion,’ he says. ‘Within the week, we were walking the site with Pat Cook from the Clunes Uniting Church to see if the site was feasible and within the month had in-principle support from the Uniting Church Synod Victoria and Tasmania.
‘We worked closely with Malcolm Hull, who was Chair of the Clunes Town Hall Committee, and everyone in the local community. We wanted to bring the whole community with us. The long-term project to restore the bluestone church – the extraordinary work of my Council colleague, Doug Turnbull (OW1970) – was to ensure this remained a focus for the community. The cooperation of so many people proved to be vital. Most of the building works were completed in a mere seven months. It really was a just-in-time project, but it’s a project that has turned out to be an enduring part of the local community.
‘I can’t wait for the anniversary celebrations on 22 March. I’m as passionate about Wesley at Clunes as I was 20 years ago.’
According to well-known Clunes local, Malcolm Hull, Wesley at Clunes brought life back into the town, and business with it. ‘Four groups of 80 or so students, four terms a year, 30 or so staff, a complete redevelopment of the Uniting Church site, the Manse and the council depot: Wesley brought a sustainable future to Clunes. Clunes locals who embraced the project, like Pat Cook, Lou Newman, Joy and Lindsay Tourney, Judith Fawcett and all involved with the Clunes Uniting Church, were so wise. Here we are, 20 years on, and looking forward to the next 20 years.’
Clunes celebrates
Twenty years on, Clunes is celebrating. Our 20-year anniversary celebration on 22 March coincides with this year’s Clunes Festival Day for the students in Group 81 – and, yes, the maths does add up: 80 groups have come through Clunes, four every year over the past 20 years, and Group 81 is the first in our third decade to experience the program.
The anniversary celebrations include student-led activities and demonstrations, presentations on our redevelopment project, a history gallery where just about every student from the past 20 years can find a photo of themselves – and maybe even wonder at their fashion sense at the time – as well as a food tent, music by Clunes and Melbourne students, staff and locals and much more.
What do students and staff say?
‘The official opening of Wesley at Clunes on 2 April was an exciting and memorable day, with students providing fantastic entertainment. Thank you to the Wesley students who brought the community together with goodwill, fun and laughter, providing magic acts, busking, performances by the St Kilda Road Big Band and Jazz Choir, cooking and looking after all who attended. It was a great start for an educational experience based on interdependence and communal responsibility.’ Helen Kroger, Director, Fundraising and Development, 2000
‘At Clunes you learn more about yourself and how to cope in different environments. Clunes really showed us different skills that we can now use for the rest of our lives, but the main thing about Clunes is that we had fun while doing it all.’ Millie Casey and Joel Skurrie, both Group 25, 2006
‘Clunes is the most amazing and unique experience that any student will experience while they are attending Wesley. The things that you learn over the eight weeks are life changing and you learn a lot of helpful lessons for the future. Clunes was a great place for meeting new people and making friends. Clunes made me realise a lot about myself and other people and I learned some valuable lessons that I can take back to Melbourne. Enjoy the eight weeks and make the most of your experiences because it will never happen again.’ Unnamed Group 39 student, 2009
‘(Following significant local floods in September 2010,) I volunteered to help clean the flooded Community Centre and clean up the park. It felt good to make a difference and it made me see how good it is to work in a team.’ Unnamed Group 43 student, 2010
‘Over the Term 2 holiday break in 2015 we were visited by a student from the very first Clunes group, David Marinakis. David talked fondly of his experiences as part of Group 1. He spoke of unlimited ice-cream and two-minute noodles compared to our food planning and cooking classes of today and of houses still being built and no established gardens. While much has changed it was clear that the philosophy and key concepts remain the same – community, learning to live with others, sense of self, place in the wider world, understanding of yourself as a learner and developing approaches to learning.’ Suzanne Camm, Head of Clunes, 2008-2015
‘Learning here is hands on. It’s all about the activities. I’m really enjoying my elective and look forward to the rotations and running program. Being in a house of my own and making new friends is such a great opportunity. My uncle came to Clunes in Group 4 which is a nice family connection!’ Josh Feferkranz, Group 81, 2020.
The next chapter
The Clunes program has evolved over the past 20 years. In 2020, the program has increased the number of opportunities for students to mix more widely and introduced enhanced experiential learning opportunities like a new holistic MYP interdisciplinary unit, ‘The Clunes Experience,’ a revised ‘Living Well’ component and a Clunes Portfolio linking Self, Place and Communities. The program also strengthens the connections between the Electives program and broader learning at Clunes, including a focus on innovation and entrepreneurship leading towards a refreshed format for Presentation Day, known from this year as Clunes Festival Day.
The next chapter for Wesley at Clunes includes a substantial building program. For the first time Clunes will host purpose-built learning and teaching spaces, a design technology studio and a demonstration kitchen, as well as two additional student houses. Plans will be on display for visitors at the anniversary celebrations.
And what of the next 20 years? That’s an exciting question for Clunes graduates. Amy McAlister (OW2003 and 2000 Clunes graduate) says she hopes Clunes continues to provide Wesley students with a remarkable and rewarding experience. ‘From learning how to contribute to a household without expecting a thank you from mum or dad – if encountering a few cooking and laundry debacles along the way – to building confidence through creative projects and musical performances in the bluestone church, to discovering more about the local community, its history and a different way of life, Clunes was a truly unique experience and a privilege,’ she says.
When her son, Harrison Lipshut, attends Clunes in 2032, it’s certain that the world will be quite different, but the Clunes experience will still be enabling students to learn and grow. ‘Now, as a mum myself, I have a better understanding of my own mum’s mortifying tears as she said goodbye to her daughter for eight weeks, but I also have a great appreciation of the opportunity Clunes will provide my son to develop life skills such as teamwork, compromise, problem-solving and creativity. It’s hard to believe it has been 20 years since my own experience. Happy anniversary Clunes!’
Hear what our students and staff think about Clunes, and watch the program in action
