Planning application lodged as new Bendigo Christian College looks at hopeful January 2023 opening

After years in the making, the Bendigo Christian College is set to welcome students and families through its doors in Junortoun from January 2023 if all goes well with the application process.

School board chair Phil Trebilcock said the Bendigo Baptist Church site, where the school will run, was the most logical spot for the campus.

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"The church already runs Bendigo's biggest playgroup network, and the school is a natural extension of this," he said.

"This is also the site of the former Ascension College, which closed over 20 years ago, so the foundations were already here and we're able to build on that."

Mr Trebilcock the lodgement of the application represented the culmination of seven years planning and thousands of hours of input.

After submitting the documentation to the Department of Environment, Land, Water and Planning, on behalf of the Minister for Planning Richard Wynne, the body will take multiple steps before the application is approved.

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DELWP will refer the application to all relevant referral agencies in accordance with the requirements of the planning scheme as well as give the City of Greater Bendigo an opportunity to provide comment after viewing the document.

The department will then provide a recommendation to the Minister for Planning before Mr Wynne approves or denies the application.

The school board will then lodge school registration papers with the Victorian Registration and Qualifications Authority in June.

Mr Trebilcock said the board hoped the new school would prove useful in the current education climate.

"We know there are a lot of long waiting lists for a lot of the schools around Bendigo, so we're hoping this new school will alleviate some of that stress," he said.

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Organisers say the school, if realised, will be a small, low-fee, rural school that could provide students and families with individualised care in the early years of a child's schooling.

"We plan on opening for preps to grade two next year, but we hope that we can expand to be a full primary school over the next few years," Mr Trebilcock said.

The existing buildings will have walls added to create classroom spaces throughout and utilise the building beside the church for each section of the school.

The school is still accepting enrolment inquiries and they can be directed to the school website bendigochristiancollege.org.au, email at admin@bendigochristiancollege.org.au or Mr Trebilcock on 0422 188 228.

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