Aspire Early Learning at Armstrong Creek turns one!

On the eastern boundary of Ashbury, Aspire Early Learning has passed one year of caring for local children.

Centre manager and music teacher, Sarah Barge, said that the growth of the area means they’re seeing a lot of new families coming in.

“We’re currently at 90% occupancy, so we have quite a lot of children here. We’re 136 place centre and most days we’re pretty full.”

Over Sarah’s shoulder and visible from the front door is the kitchen. Chicken is on the menu the day we visit.

“They love our food. So our chef, Saad, he’s currently making teriyaki chicken, it is amazing and a big point of our service here,” Sarah said as Saad waves back. He’s busy moving trays around and coordinating lunch for 100+ hungry people.

Sarah’s a Surf Coast local, having lived in Torquay for 17 years and seen the whole area change and grow.

“It’s only about a 10 minute drive for me, and just being able to see the development grow from the beginning.

In 2025 Geelong became the most popular city for internal migration, pipping the Sunshine Coast for the top spot.

But the surge in the region has been a long time coming, Sarah said she’s been watching the development from the highway for years now.

“You’d see it coming along, coming along and to see it finally springing up with families and that sort of lifestyle happening here, it’s amazing.”

In 2026 the centre will be adding music lessons to the curriculum thanks to Sarah’s music teacher qualification. The children will learn how to begin reading music and how to play the guitar, ukulele and piano.

Sarah’s also a multi-instrumentalist. Her first instrument is bass guitar and double bass, but she also plays the piano, the drums, ukulele, recorder, a bit of saxophone.

“Pretty much anything! Give it to me and I’ll be able to play it.”

The team is looking forward to all the new families that are starting, the Bush Kinder program begins this year too, run by the University of Melbourne and Possum Pete.

Around Ashbury activity is ramping up that Aspire Early Learning is part of or benefits families at the centre.

“Locally there’s a lot of new growth, we’ve got some new shopping centres opening, we’re building community connections with our library here, we’ve got some new schools,” Sarah said.

“So many things. Ashbury has just a nice fresh feel to it.”