"We appreciate too, the concern and distress this may cause our newer families who have only recently [joined] us," she said. "The wellbeing of our community remains paramount during this difficult time." Ms Virgato said discussions were under way with Catholic partners in the area about the future of Catholic education in the area. The news was broken to school staff on Monday afternoon. Counselling has been arranged for them, with the assistance of Catholic Education Melbourne.

Presentation College is Victoria’s second-oldest Catholic girls’ school. It opened in 1874. It is run by the Sisters of the Presentation of the Blessed Virgin Mary. A spokeswoman for the Presentation Sisters confirmed the school's plan to close at the end of the 2020 school year. Congregation Leader Sister Maria Lazzaro also wrote to parents on Monday to say that the school could not continue. Sister Lazzaro said the school had been a vibrant centre for the education of young women for 146 years.

The grounds of Presentation College "However, we have been aware for some time of the challenges facing PCW to maintain a high standard of education in the face of declining enrolments," Sister Lazzaro wrote. "Comprehensive reviews of the college both in 2012 and 2018 indicate that the number of students intending to enrol in the college in the next decade are unlikely to recover to the level needed to resource a successful Catholic secondary college in the 21st century." Michael Elphick, a schools consultant who is project managing the shutdown of the school for the Presentation Sisters, said many had reacted with "shock and grief" when they heard about the decision, but accepted it was the only option. "As we are working our way through the announcements to various stakeholder groups there is a sense of real sadness and grief around this. A lot of people have poured their working lives into this," he said.

"We spent a lot of time road-testing it and making sure the decision was sound and I think it's the right decision." He said the sisters came to the conclusion they could not keep the school going in the long run. "Back when I was teaching, a figure of 800 or so students was needed to give a school a bit of an edge, for a well-resourced school to have the numbers to carry the smaller classes, to have a range of curriculum, good sporting teams, all the things numbers let you do," he said. "In the modern day with the cost of schooling and kind of things parents expect, it's a much higher number now, well past 1,200 or 1,300 to achieve an economy of scale. "A school that is now going to be under 400, that's just not in the long or medium term economically viable for you ... you can't cover your costs," he said.

The school employs 69 staff, including 44 teachers, according to the MySchool website. It had 466 students last year, but enrolments have steadily declined in recent years. There were 636 girls enrolled there eight years ago. Current student Kate, who is in Year Nine, told The Age she and her friends "shed many tears" when they were told the school was closing. "Presentation College has taught me many lessons and has managed to help me push myself out of my comfort zone with many supportive teachers and tutors when struggling at school work," she said. "I never imagined a school like this to close down. I immediately called my peers to inform them of the devastating news and they had the same reaction, endless hours of crying."

She said a petition had been started on Change.org to save the school which had been signed by over 600 people on Monday night. The announcement comes as the state government undertakes a school building blitz in inner-city Melbourne, including a new state high school in the neighbouring suburb of Prahran that will cater for up to 650 students. Catholic Education Melbourne's acting executive director Jim Miles said it was a sad day for the Catholic education sector. "Like everyone in the Catholic education community, we’re sad to hear that Presentation College Windsor will be closing at the end of next year," Mr Miles said. He said Catholic Education Melbourne would be available to provide support to students, parents and staff of the college.

Former parliamentary speaker and federal Labor MP Anna Burke attended PWC from grade one through to HSC. Her mother was also a student there. Ms Burke said she felt “shock and devastation” when she heard of the school’s coming closure. “It’s an institution in Australia; one of the oldest girls’ schools in the country,” Ms Burke said. “I feel for the students, parents and teachers wondering what will happen. I also feel for the neighbours wondering what will happen to that prime piece of land in Windsor.”