Despite its illustrious early development and imaginative additions over the years, in the 1950s, 1960s and 1970s, under the ownership of an insurance company, only meagre investment into repairs and maintenance meant Ardoch slowly sank into stately disrepair. In 1977, the whole estate was sold to the Victorian Education Department and it was turned into a government high school.

The Education Department began works to transform Ardoch into an unusual school, the likes of which had not been developed elsewhere in Melbourne. The buildings retained their 1920s style facades, and the gardens were also kept, where possible. The intention was to create a high school set in a domestic, park-like setting.

But it was not to last. By the early 1990s, the new Kennett government announced the formal closure of Ardoch as a school.

The many students and teachers who had the good fortune to experience Ardoch when it was a school – a very ‘different’ school – have fond memories of their time here.

On the Ardoch Stories website, we hope to gather, collate and preserve for posterity these fond memories.