Director of teaching and learning Sally Kuchel said after years of slow expansion it was exciting to see the school’s first senior students take to the classroom.

“It’s been something that’s been in the pipeline for quite some time,” she said.

“Obviously the junior school is growing and there was a huge push from the community and parent body for P to 12. We moved slowly. We went into middle school and now senior secondary education.”

Mrs Kuchel said after a lot of behind the scenes hard work, the school was proud of the achievement. 

“It’s a mammoth achievement,” she said. “We’re quite excited. It’s new territory but we’re ready. 

“We’ve employed senior staff trained and qualified to teach in the secondary areas.

“We’ve got the resources in order, completed staff training, curriculum preparation and planning. It’s quite extensive but we’re well and truly ready to start.”

Mrs Kuchel said two senior school teachers had been employed, with one class of year 10 students starting the school year in 2017.

She said the number of classes was expected to increase as the senior school program rolled out fully.

“Already we have new enrolments from last year,” she said.

“We maintain a lot from year 7 but we’ve also had interest from new enrolments.”

Mrs Kuchel said the expansion would benefit students and teachers alike. 

“It means we have the opportunity to follow students through their education and support them as they learn the possibilities for the future,” she said. 

“We’ve started them off and seen them through middle school and now we’ve be able to see them through the next stage of their education. It’s quite a privilege and quite exciting.”

Mrs Kuchel said for students, a prep to year 12 experience allowed their learning to remain steady and not be disrupted by new environments. 

“It gives them the opportunity for seamless education throughout school without having to move to start secondary school,” she said. 

Lutheran Church of Australia Victorian District Church Council approved the school’s expansion to year 12 last year. The school will take on year 11 classes in 2018 and year 12 classes in 2019.