2 months ago
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Victoria’s oldest progressive school has bought a former piano factory, hoping to boost enrolments by tapping into demand from families living in Melbourne’s creative, alternative suburbs.
Preshil, a bohemian co-educational school in conservative Kew, will use the former Allans & Co piano factory in Carlton as a campus for secondary students from 2028.
Preshil principal Aaron Mackinnon inside the former piano factory with year 10 students Rafi Adeney, Alex Thoraval and Airlie Clarke.Credit: Chris Hopkins
The move follows the school’s multimillion-dollar sale of its Blackhall campus, a heritage-listed 1890 Italianate mansion in Kew, to private school giant and neighbour Carey Baptist Grammar in October.
Principal Aaron Mackinnon said moving into one of Carlton’s most storied buildings would improve access for families living in the city’s inner suburbs such as Northcote and Footscray, as well as those further afield.
“Our progressive, creative demographic wasn’t necessarily living in Kew like they were 90 years ago. And so, really, we wanted to find somewhere that could have students accessing the site from all around Melbourne.”
Mackinnon said the centrally located secondary campus, serviced by the recently opened Metro Tunnel and refurbished local bike lanes, would have a positive impact on the school’s enrolments, which have slid from 256 in 2019 to just 205 students in 2024 before rising to 223 last year.
The 3700-square-metre site will allow student numbers in each year level to double to about 50, though Mackinnon said the school would cap numbers to maintain its community feel.
Preshil bought the former piano factory and warehouse for $19.7 million from Singapore company Optimus Holdings. The deal means the school again has two campuses.
Arlington, in Kew, will serve kindergarten to year 8 students, and the new Carlton secondary campus, to be known as Senior Studio, will accommodate year 9 to 12 students.
The 95-year-old progressive school prides itself on being unconventional. It was founded in 1931 by Margaret J. Lyttle, a “forward-thinking, idiosyncratic educationalist” who held classes in her dining room.
According to Lyttle, “Preshil is not a place children do what they like, but rather they like what they do”.
Alumni include Australia’s former chief medical officer Brendan Murphy, musician Clare Bowditch and actor Gina Riley.
Students do not wear uniforms, and learning is often student-driven. Senior students can vote on which novel they study for English.
The buildings at the junior campus were designed by renowned Melbourne architect Kevin Borland in the 1960s. His collaboration with students resulted in features such as secret trapdoors, mezzanines and cubby spaces for children to explore and hone their physical, spatial and creative skills.
The new Carlton campus will have institutions such as the State Library and Melbourne Museum close by, locations that will enhance the school’s preference for flexible pathways over a traditional timetable approach to teaching and learning.
“It gives us the opportunity to say, ‘Hey, you know what? Let’s go down to the State Library and look at that, let’s go down to the NGV,’” Mackinnon said.
“There’s history and learning all around that we will be able to pivot with.”
Students will also have use of Lincoln Square Park opposite the school. The park is believed to be the site of Victoria’s first public playground and is shaded by 150-year-old Moreton Bay fig trees.
“Part of what is important to us is connection to nature,” Mackinnon said.
“We are anti the industrial model for education, so, yes, it is a little ironic that we have picked a former factory to house our senior campus.”
Features of the building’s industrial past are still evident, including a piano shaft and the red brick exterior.Credit: Chris Hopkins
The five-storey red-brick former factory was built in the late 1920s on Lincoln Square South and is part of a historic precinct reflecting the city’s industrial development during the interwar period.
The building was designed by architect Cedric Ballantyne, who also designed the Athenaeum Club and the Regent Theatre, both on Collins Street.
Features of the building’s industrial past are still evident, including the sawtooth roof, steel-framed windows and piano shaft.
An illustration from the late 1920s of the Allan & Co piano factory.Credit: The Magazine for the Architect, Builder, Property Owner and Merchant.
Allan & Co was considered the largest musical warehouse in the southern hemisphere in the 1870s.
The company sold sheet music and instruments, as well as the pianos it made. It later became Allans Music, which was bought by retailer Brashs.
Preshil will lease the Blackhall property from Carey until the end of 2027.
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