History
First Staff Photo - Circa 1969
Newcomb Secondary College
Established 1969
Newcomb High School (now Newcomb Secondary College) was established in Newcomb, Geelong in 1969. It was built to service the communities of Newcomb, Whittington, East Geelong and Moolap, as these areas grew to accommodate new families moving to the area for work at Alcoa, Ford and many of the Textile factories.
Leon Touzel was Newcomb's first Principal, serving in that capacity into 1975. The school began as only Form 1 (Year 7) and in a small number of portable classrooms. The year 1974 saw the first time that Newcomb had all 6 forms.
The second Principal was Mr Alphonse Smale, who took the school into the late 1980s. During this time the school grew to include the main structures that are still in use today, although many of them have been refurbished. Also during the principalship of Mr Smale, the school began the change of school colours, from the original brown and gold to green and white.
In 1988, the former Assistant Principal Mr John Scanlon moved into the permanent position of Principal. The school grew with the area, and peaked at approximately 1100 students, reaching from Clifton Springs, Drysdale and Ocean Grove into East Geelong. The establishment of Bellarine Secondary College meant that Newcomb lost many students from the peninsula.
1990 saw a state government decision to change many names of schools in the state sector. Newcomb High School, having only been established for just over 20 years was required to change to Newcomb Secondary College.
It was also around this time that Newcomb South Primary School was closed, and Newcomb Secondary College absorbed the building and grounds into the present site.
Also during the late 1980s and early 1990s, Newcomb was part of the then successful shared campus programme that involved students being bused between Newcomb, Geelong East Technical School (later James Harrison Secondary College) and Matthew Flinders Girls High School. This meant that the students from the three schools had a wider range of subjects and could take subjects at any one, or a combination of, the three schools.
In 1995, Mr Scanlon retired, and the principalship was taken over by Mr Alan Davis, who at the time had been Assistant Principal, and prior to that had been a teacher for some time at the school in the English Department.
During Mr Davis’ time as Principal, the school merged with James Harrison Secondary College, requiring the James Harrison students and staff to move to the Newcomb site. Although this time was a major time of adjustment for all concerned, the transition was a smooth and successful one, increasing student numbers to over 1000 students. The first year of the fully combined school was 2002.
After the merger, the school was involved in a major refurbishment project, which saw four of the school’s main buildings gutted and rebuilt within the existing frameworks. The facelift took several years, but was finished in time for the school’s 40th birthday.
In 2006, after the retirement of Mr Davis, present Principal, Mr Phil Honeywell was appointed.
In 2012, it was decided that the school colours would undergo a transformation from the green and white to the navy blue and white that is in the process of being introduced.
