Melbourne Uni’s ELC
Abbotsford has what is without doubt Melbourne’s best pre-school and kindergarten, the University of Melbourne’s Early Learning Centre, in the same street as the Children’s Farm’s and the Convent’s entrances. After a close connection with the University, being a resident of Abbotsford is the next best thing for getting in and there is a special relationship between it and what may be Melbourne’s best primary school, Clifton Hill Primary School (sometimes referred to as ‘Gold Street’) which is just up Hoddle Street and through the Darling Gardens. The train trip and walk through those gardens must be one of the nicest ways to get to school around.
Truly, if you have a family with a preschooler, this is reason enough to buy your house in Abbotsford.
There is another wonderful long day care centre and kindergarten for pre-schoolers a short walk away in Rupert Street. It doesn’t look much chop from the front, but it has a large tree-shaded outdoor play area and is a good institution.
Local kids go to the very good Yarra Primary, Richmond West Primary (Australia’s leading Chinese immersion bilingual immersion school), Spensley Street Primary, St John’s and Clifton Hill Primary as well as Abbotsford Primary.
Collingwood College, with its Stephanie Alexander kitchen garden, and its Steiner education stream, is only 550 m away. I’ve mentioned the Sophia Mundi Steiner School in the page about the Abbotsford Convent and Collingwood Children’s Farm.
Melbourne Girls College just down the Yarra bikepath is obviously a highly desirable option for locals with girls. It’s a beautiful and safe ride along the Yarra Bike Path all the way. Richmond High School with 650 students has just opened behind the Richmond Town Hall, at a cost of $49 million.
