The school has a proud record in the teaching of languages to the community. The school had its beginings in 1935 when it started Saturday classes at MacRoberston Girls' High School for pupils who desired to learn mordern languages. The first classes offered were in Italian and Japanese.

It proved a successful model, later adopted by other Australian states. The Saturday School of Modern Languages, as it was known earlier, was able to provide for the language requirements of our multicultural society and it progressively expanded as it responded to Victoria's language needs in the city and country areas. Currently the VSL offers over 40 languages around Victoria to 13,000 students in Face-to-Face classes and 1,400 students in Distance Education.

For a more detailed history of the school click on the following link:
By accident or design? The origins of the Victorian School of Languages.