When the Victorian Government passed the Education Bill in 1872, it acquired an existing Whittlesea School (No 658), established in 1855 by the Church of England. The third head teacher at this school, William Stubbs, oversaw the transition to the present location on September 1, 1878. Whittlesea State School (No 2090) was designed by Education Department architect Herbert Bastow and built by local builder W. H. Lockwood. Thomas Barker [1881-1899] is on record as the school’s longest-serving Head Teacher with enrolments over 100. Another long-serving head teacher, Thomas Jobling (1908-1924), led the school through the dark days of WWI. The school moved to the Whittlesea Memorial Hall in 1927 while building upgrades were carried out. In 1930, the school won ‘Best Kept School Garden’ under William Campbell (1928-1940).
During WWII, the children donated thousands of eggs to Melbourne hospitals. Enrolments dropped to 51 after the war but the closure of Eden Park and Glenvale schools helped bring them up again. Reginald Broben (1957-1965) initiated a building program to keep pace with numbers. In 1968 with enrolments at 204, the School Committee petitioned the Education Department for a new site. This was turned down. Instead, adjoining land was acquired and extensively cut and filled to turn the sloped terrain into the school oval of today. From 1974 to 1978, enrolments rose dramatically from 226 to 383. Temporary classrooms were installed and play space was greatly reduced. In the centenary year of 1978, the whole town celebrated with a street parade to the school. Enrolments reached 399 in 1985 and more portables were added. The growing pains were eased when numbers dropped to 298 by 1989 as the local Catholic school established itself.
Yvonne Scott (1992-1999) oversaw the “Master Plan”. The purchase of the neighbouring Woods Paddock paved the way for a new library, staffroom, music room, and gym complex, and the relocation of portables. The original building was given Heritage status in 1998 and underwent a major refurbishment. Enrolments hovered around 410 during David Dyer’s term (2000-2009). He oversaw the planting of 50 fruit trees. Past students from that time remember the many songs they learned at assembly each week.
Bente Stock (2010-2016) became Principal as the school experienced another significant build. The forty-year-old office and classroom complex was replaced by The Federal Government’s “Building the Education Revolution” building and named the Early Learning Centre. In 2014, the Woods Paddock area was converted into the present synthetic turf soccer field. By 2018, four new portables were installed.
Ty Hoggins (2016-2023) continued to drive school improvement and commenced the school's journeys in the implementation of the School Wide Positive Behaviours framework (SWPBS) and Harvard Data Wise. During this time, the A Block was fully refurbished with the toilets in this building also fully redeveloped.
Under Ty’s Principalship, the school has maintained an enrolment of around 430 students.
In 2024, Kaylene Kubeil became the substantive Principal of Whittlesea Primary School.
The one unchanging feature in the entire life of the school has been the oak tree which is believed to have been planted at a time when the Farmers Arms Hotel stood where the Heritage building now stands.
