History

Lake Colac School was established in 1985 as the Colanda Education Unit, which was a part of the Colanda Centre, a residential service for adults with disabilities.

In 1986 the school was renamed Colac Special Developmental School and accepted students up to 25 years of age. In 1997, the age limit for the school became 18 years of age, and the following year, in 1998, the school was renamed Colac Specialist School. In 1999, the school relocated to its Wilson Street site, where it remained in relocatable buildings until 2023. In 2024, the school changed its name to Lake Colac School and relocated to purpose-built facilities on the previous Colac High School site, utilising the original school building constructed in 1911. The Colac High School merged with Colac College (“the tech school”) in 2008 and relocated to its new location on Queen Street.

This left the former Colac High School site abandoned for 16 years prior to Lake Colac School now being located there.

Images: Colac Agricultural High School, Murray Street, 1937; Colac Special Developmental School, Colanda, c.1988

The Principals of Lake Colac School

Andy Scholl – 1985 – 1990 – Colanda Education Unit/Colac Special Developmental School

John Olsen – 1991 – July 2000 – Colac Special Developmental School/Colac Specialist School

Dianne Leverett – July 2000 – July 2006 – Colac Specialist School

Suzanne Armstrong – July 2006 – May 2017 – Colac Specialist School

Cameron Peverett – May 2017 – current – Colac Specialist School/Lake Colac School