Portland Secondary College has developed from the amalgamation of Portland High School and Portland Technical School. 1993 was the first year that all students were finally on the same campus in Must Street, which had been the site of the Technical School.
Portland Higher Elementary School, with an enrolment of 30 students, was established in 1912 as part of the Palmer Street Primary School. Senior education continued on this site until 1945 when Portland High School was finally established with 192 students.
By the time new buildings were built in Julia Street in 1957 and ready to move into, there were already 480 students enrolled. The school continued to grow until 1969 when the enrolment was 800 students.
1970 saw the opening of the Boys Technical School with 65 students. The initial accommodation was in the “Terrapin” building. The school operated in temporary classrooms until 1972.
The Terrapin was demolished to make way for the first stage of our building program in 1995.
The emphasis at the “Tech” was on the provision of trade and apprentice training. From humble beginnings the school grew to an enrolment of over 450 students in 1976. A major milestone was the introduction of girls in 1983.
The two schools, after years of discussion, decided that the best way to provide comprehensive education to the Portland community was to amalgamate on its current site. Hence the formation of Portland Secondary College. 1995 saw the commencement and completion of permanent buildings for library services with the refurbishment of the old gymnasium into an extensive resource centre and the construction of a multi sports stadium for Drama performance, Physical and Sports Education. This latter complex also houses the canteen.
Our school has a well-equipped Technology centre for the study of food, wood, textiles, plastics, engineering, game design and 3D printing. A Science facility aimed to foster an interest in Science and a curiosity to speculate and explore the world and an Art facility that gives our students the opportunity to experience music, 2 and 3 dimensional art, photography, media and video has also been established. The Year 12 Global Learning Centre opened in October 2011. Another addition was the Discovery Hospitality Centre (Portland-Heywood Trade Training Centre) opened in January 2013. This state-of-the-art Hospitality training facility broadens the education and training options for young people in our communities. 2019 saw the original school building gutted and redeveloped to become a Junior School Wing which also hosts the College’s Languages Program.
In 2024, the library was relocated to the Junior School Wing and a new, innovative, Year 7 Hub was created in the old library space. This space allows teachers to maximise student learning outcomes and facilitates students to develop positive relationships with peers and teachers and allows for a focus on high levels of engagement and connectedness to learning.