The Don College

The Don College

The Don College is located in Don, a suburb of Devonport on the North-West coast of Tasmania. "Don", as it is commonly known to residents of Devonport, is a college where one can study year 11 and 12 before attending University. Students come to study there from as far as Penguin, a small town about 30 km west of Devonport, and Deloraine, another small down about 50 km south of Devonport. It is one of only two public schools where one can study year 11 and 12 on the North-West coast, the only other public school place being Hellyer College.

In 2009, the Don College was renamed the Don Campus of the Tasmanian Polytechnic which delivers Tasmanian Certificate of Education (TCE) Courses and also became the Don Campus of the Tasmanian Academy which provides courses for TCE qualifications in order to enter University.

Don College, built prior to 1973, was originally designed to have four large circular buildings, however there was no need at the time of construction for all four so there was a planned delay in completion of the final two. In later years, the changes to construction methods and reduction in overall costs made any expansion to four circles meaningless. There are classrooms conveniently located in terrapins which give sweeping views of endemic bush land. The building and walkways of Don College are an excellent example of Brutalist Architecture in Devonport and Tasmania. Its scale makes it one of the largest examples of the style in Devonport.

The college has two common use rooms, northern and southern, the two being very different environments. The Southern Common Room began in the late 1970s as the "smokers" common room. The Northern Common Room is named so because of the windows facing the north which fill the common room with light. Students also spend their free time outside on the northern lawn or in the library, the gym or the music room. AFL footballer Matthew Richardson also attended the college.