is This Your School ?

Today the Dandenong Ranges is a popular tourism destination and is well known as a place to experience nature in an environment that provides the perfect sense of wonder, warmth, and charm.   Prior to settlement, the Wurundjeri people used areas included in the region for hunting and gathering food. The Wurundjeri are a people of the Indigenous Australian nation, in the Kulin alliance, who occupy the Birrarung Valley (or Yarra Valley), its tributaries and the present location of Melbourne.

Two names have been used to refer to the ranges; Corhanwarrabul and Dandenong, both derived from the Woiwurrung language of the Wurundjeri people.

In the 1950s it became fashionable to own your own piece of the Dandenong Ranges paradise and little bungalows and shacks popped up across the villages of the hilltop. The  Ranges has been home to many famous artists including Arthur Streeton, C.J. Dennis, William Ricketts (visit his work at the William Ricketts Sanctuary), Tom Roberts and Lin Onus (whose collection can be seen today at Burrinja).

About Our School

The Ridge Central School has an enrolment of around 450 students for the 2015 year. Approximately 44% of the school's students identified as being of Aboriginal descent, with more than 28 nationalities being represented across the school.

Students come from families mainly involved in the tourism or agricultural industries. Most students live within town, however many come from nearby towns across the ranges and on rural properties.

Students and their families have a rich variety of backgrounds, all of which contribute to the diversity of this exciting ranges town.

The school is focused on providing positive, safe and respectful learning environments for its students through a strongly embedded Positive Behaviour for Learning program, an effective and responsive curriculum, effective quality teaching and community support.