No one could have ever thought in the past that the time would come when we would need to remind ourselves about the existence and the need to support the teaching of Greek in our public system.

“We should never forget that only when Greek will be retained primarily in the public system – and in order to be retained in the public system there is a need for a sufficient number of enrolments and not just signatures – will it be able to be promoted for inclusion in the prestigious top 7-8 ‘priority languages’ in ACARA at national level.”

The teaching of Greek in our state schools was vigorously introduced back in between the late ’60s and the mid-’70s. In the years to follow there was a time that Greek was taught at about 80 state schools.

Today a relatively small number of schools in the state of Victoria still teach Greek both at primary and secondary level by highly qualified Greek teachers, achieving excellent results. Their success (Top Scorers) on an annual basis at VCE level is exemplary. For example, in 2013 the one and only perfect score of 50 out of 50 in Modern Greek at VCE level was achieved by a state school student, Ekaterini Pandelidou, from Northcote High School, where Sotiria Zorbas teaches, a Melbourne University graduate with a 28-year teaching experience. It is not the first time that Northcote High has achieved a perfect score (three times in the past, with a very high score record year after year); Northcote High is not the only high school in our state which has such high academic standards – Balwyn High is a similar case, among others. Such teachers seem to be working wonders for our language and culture in a quiet, discreet way with no ads, no fuss; their deeds speak for themselves; they are the quite achievers who are left alone to be perished. It’s unfair.

On the other hand it seems we have forgotten that it would have been a blessing for the students who would want to study Greek to be able to study it at their day school, receiving 4-5 hours of tuition per week, having daily contact with their teachers, with no need to sacrifice their after school free time and without paying any extra money. These public schools, which continue to offer Greek in their curriculum, should be trusted and be helped to boost their enrolments and be strongly supported by the Greek community and especially by the parents in their school councils, otherwise the possibility of Greek being altogether erased from the public sector is real. There is a need to set up a lobby and be vigilant.

We should never forget that only when Greek will be retained primarily in the public system – and in order to be retained in the public system there is a need for a sufficient number of enrolments and not just signatures – will it be able to be promoted for inclusion in the prestigious top 7-8 ‘priority languages’ in ACARA at national level. The alternative is to be just another ‘community language’.

Since it is not possible in our days to increase the number of schools offering Greek in our state system, we should at least support these schools, which are currently offering the subject, by boosting their enrolment numbers. This is the only way for Greek to stay in our public system. I cannot stress enough that these schools need the support of our community.

A list with the schools still offering Greek both at primary and secondary level follows.

Primary Schools:
Clarinda Primary School
Coburg Primary School
Coburg West Primary School
Lalor North Primary School (the only school offering a bilingual program)
Richmond Primary School
Serpell Primary School (Templestowe)
Stonnington Primary School (Windsor)
Sunshine Heights Primary School
Westgarth Primary School (Northcote)
Wooranna Park Primary
School (Dandenong North)
Yarra Primary School (Richmond)
Secondary Colleges/
High Schools:
Balwyn High School
Bentleigh Secondary College
Hawthorn Secondary College
Lalor Secondary College
Northcote High School
South Oakleigh Secondary College
Strathmore Secondary College
Thornbury High School
South Oakleigh Secondary College

In case Greek is not offered at any day school either primary or secondary in a particular area, the Victorian School of Languages (VSL) comes to the rescue. Greek is offered on Saturday morning in Bentleigh, Brunswick, Carwatha, Epping, Footscray City, Haileybury and Keilor Downs and during the week in Ballarat, Doncaster and Glen Waverley. And even if none of the above helps, VSL-Distance Education is there to help students learn Greek even on a one-to-one basis. VSL-Distance Education is available only for secondary level students.

*Anna Chatzinikolaou is currently an Honorary Associate at the University of Melbourne after 28 years of teaching Greek at the same university.