Blackburn High School is based on a House System which is essential to building a sense of community and providing support to staff, students and families. Students and families will remain in the same House for the duration of their time at Blackburn High School, which further enhances the sense of belonging and connection.

Across our school we have four houses, Dunlop, Freeman, Hollows and Melba.

Each of these Houses comprises over 350 students and around 14 Mentor Groups.  

Throughout the year numerous whole school activities are conducted with House representation, from  Swimming and Athletics Carnivals to our House Performing Arts Festival, the spirit, support and participation for each House is immense and excels our school community environment for one another.

Our Houses also dedicate an annual fundraiser to generate funds for a chosen charity. These fundraisers are often a highlight for our school community and frequently feature BBQs, music and games.

FREEMAN - First Place 2026 House Performing Arts

House Performing Arts Program 2026

Dunlop House

Sir Edward ‘Weary’ Dunlop, a prisoner of war who in 1985 led the creation of the Sir Edward Dunlop Medical Research Foundation. This foundation allows medical researchers to study health conditions that affected war veterans and their foundations.

Weary Dunlop’s characteristics of ‘courage’ and ‘unselfishness’ are also reflected in our School Value of Citizenship. It is for these reasons our school community is proud to continue our support of Weary and his foundation.

House Leader: Liam Tobin
Assistant Leader:  Jarrod Nicholson, Samantha Barkley, Kerwin Alcantara

Freeman House

Our Freeman House is based on the Community Spirit Foundation, formally known as the Cathy Freeman Foundation.

This foundation works closely with First Nations Communities to ensure their young people have access to the best opportunities and achieve their best outcomes through education and lifelong learning.

House Leader:  Emma Love

Assistant House Leaders:  Emma Wilkins, David Morris, Madeleine Weatherley

Hollows House

Hollows House is named after Fred Hollows, a professor at the University of NSW who drastically reduced the cost of eye care for communities worldwide.

Fred’s mission was to ensure that no one across the globe was unnecessarily blind.

Each year Blackburn High School donations ensure that for every $25, someone has their sight restored.

House Leader:  Brittany Milner 

Assistant House Leaders:  Rajpal Kaur, Kiara Bloomfield, Alan Clark

Melba House

Melba House is named after famous Australian opera singer, Dame Nellie Melba. During the First World War, Dame Nellie Melba raised large sums of money to support a number of charities.

At Blackburn High School we are embodying the spirit of Dame Nellie Melba to continue supporting charities and our community.

Not only are we continuing to raise funds for the Eastern Emergency Relief Network, but our school community also bands together to collect non-perishable foods and toiletries for those in our community who are less fortunate.

House Leader:  Siobhan Dwyer

Assistant House Leaders:  Clare Leavold, Ben Slater, Chelsea Doig