By Caroline Schelle
It’s a ramshackle old house tucked away off a suburban Melbourne street but for more than 40 years, the Frank Dando Sports Academy has offered the last chance for an education for boys no other school wants.
Even its eternally upbeat principal, Ziad Zakharia, struggles to find anything good to say about the condition of the building.
Frank Dando Sports Academy principal Ziad Zakharia.Credit: Wayne Taylor
“It’s not a palace,” he concedes.
Zakharia jokes that the “old place” – a nondescript, mid-century house in Ashwood that in the 1980s was converted into a private school for troubled young men – is like something out of The Three Little Pigs.
“Bit of brick over there, straw on the ceiling, and we’ve got wood, too,” he said.
The padded floor where the boys spar in the morning is transformed into a classroom, once they pack away boxing gear and set up folding chairs and tables. In another room, the cramped classroom’s walls have water stains. Dead insects accumulate in light fittings.
Boys at the academy spar before they start their studies. Credit: Wayne Taylor
To that end, it’s about to be knocked down – and then rebuilt thanks to a $2.4 million federal government grant.
The new building will feature purpose-built classrooms – without padded floors – a martial arts space, a Ninja Warrior-style gym and dedicated student hub.
It was an emotional moment for Zakharia, finding out the school would get the grant.
“It will have a positive impact, especially for those boys who are school refusers,” he said.
Zakharia said he and his staff had enough challenges without having to cope in a school house crumbling around their ears.
The classroom has a padded floor because it doubles as the gym.Credit: Wayne Taylor
“We’re definitely a last resort,” Zakharia said. “We get kids who are violent, and kids that just don’t want to get out of bed, they’ve given up on life … we get both extremes.”
Zakharia said students often lacked self-confidence, discipline and boundaries when they got to the school, but soon learned that – despite the building’s rundown state – the school had a sense of purpose. “What matters is what’s inside, the atmosphere, the care, the love, the family unity.”
He said he believed the new facility would encourage boys to come to class and better cater to their needs.
Student JT agrees. The 14-year-old was kicked out of seven different schools after he got into fights, skipped classes and struggled academically. He moved from regional NSW to Melbourne for a fresh start.
“I was a bit lost, I wasn’t really on the right path,” he said.
“I’ve changed my life pretty much … I’ve been six months sober, I eat healthy, I’m getting good at schoolwork, my English, maths, everything.”
JT revels in the morning exercise sessions – boxing or martial arts – and works quietly during literacy and numeracy classes.
Still, the rough-and-ready state of the school did not deter him when he arrived.
“It’s got a feel to it, that it’s been used and loved, in a way,” he said.
“The school with upgrade would definitely look a bit more professional.”
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