Gungahlin’s second college campus is expected to open for the 2029 school year. Photo: Artist’s impression/Supplied.
In three years, 800 students will be able to walk through the doors of Gungahlin’s second college campus.
The $124 million facility is promised to be state-of-the-art, with a new performing arts theatre, gymnasium, tennis hard-courts and sports fields that will be available to the community outside of hours.
It will also be all-electric and powered by solar, with food technology classrooms, water-wise landscaping and active transport facilities.
Education Minister Rachel Stephen-Smith said it was about building the capacity of the public education system in Canberra’s north and easing pressure on the current Gungahlin College campus.
“We know that Gungahlin continues to be a growing community, and that the young families who’ve moved into some of the newer parts of Gungahlin have children who are getting older, and moving into college age,” she said.
“[This project will] enable young people in Gungahlin to study, play, and build their futures closer to home.”
Infrastructure Canberra’s Hayley Bell, Yerrabi MLA Suzanne Orr, Education Minister Rachel Stephen-Smith and Hindmarsh Construction project manager Elyse Francis all took part in the sod turn for Gungahlin’s second college campus. Photo: Claire Fenwicke.
Local construction firm Hindmarsh Construction won the tender to build the project.
Project manager Elyse Francis said early works approval was expected by the end of August.
“Education facilities are always a great project to be a part of, being able to see the incoming students really enjoy the best that our education facilities have to offer,” she said.
“Both of the buildings will [be built] concurrently. Building A being the majority of the teaching facilities, [and] Building B being the theatre and also the sports centre.
“We look to have most of our structure complete by mid next year, and then we’ll be focusing on our external works and building facades.”
The project is expected to support about 150 workers at the peak of construction.
The current Gungahlin College is part of a shared priority enrolment area with Dickson College.
This new facility won’t replace the current one, but will be another option for families in the north.
“The project is designed so that the school community can grow into the future,” Ms Stephen-Smith said.
“That will really be dependent on demand, but there’s certainly capacity built into the project to grow beyond the first year’s 800 students, as the need in the community grows and as people [potentially] move from one college to another.”
Gungahlin’s second college campus will cater for up to 800 Year 11 and 12 students in its first year. Photo: Artist’s impression/Supplied.
Priority enrolment areas across Canberra are under constant review by the Education Directorate, and at this stage it is not known if the catchment area will change once the college opens.
“It depends on what we’re seeing in terms of demand across all of the Northside colleges, and making sure that we really are balancing the enrollments across our schools so that they can all deliver excellent education and a variety of programs for year 11 and 12,” Ms Stephen-Smith said.
The second Gungahlin College doesn’t have its own name or uniform yet, but there’s plenty of time to sort out those details before opening.
It will be built in Nicholls near the Gold Creek School senior site.
It’s expected to open in time for Term 1, 2029.
For more information, visit Built for CBR.
Original Article published by Claire Fenwicke on Region Canberra.
