Works have started on Shepparton ACE College's new Maude St school with staff and students expected to move in by May next year.
The Rowe St school was forced to find another home about two years ago to make way for the new Shepparton Fire Station.
“While it was initially a shock, we have really embraced the move,” principal Bronwyn Rose said.
The school has secured almost $2 million in Victorian Government funding, and has so far renovated 129 Maude St (the former site of Kettle Bros Funeral Home) into an admin house.
Construction will begin next month and the school will move to the new site during the April school holidays next year.
The new school will feature a double-storey building, with parking spaces and a gym.
“And there will be only one entrance, so staff will always know where students are in the building,” Ms Rose said.
“We have that at our current site, which has worked extremely well in establishing a safe environment.”
Ms Rowe also said the school was collaborating with Melbourne-based Westside Circus to have the new gym double as a community circus space for Shepparton.
But there will be no other changes; staff, students and parents were consulted about school size, and unanimously decided to keep the school small with only 120 students from years 7 to 12.
And while the Maude St land is smaller than the current school site, the new building will accommodate two more classrooms.
But it is not about the space - it is about the culture the school has fostered in its decade of operation.
“We have a wonderful little school - it's a joy teaching there,” Ms Rowe said.