School of the future to be developed at Lansdale (Wanneroo)

13/11/96

The Education Department will develop a groundbreaking 'school of the future' at Landsdale, south of Wanneroo next year.

The school will be developed as a result of requests from the community in the area to cope with a fast-growing population in the short term.

Education Minister Colin Barnett said today that all the buildings would be custom-designed, custom-built and totally relocatable and that the school would have a pre-determined life at the Landsdale site of 10 to 12 years.

Under normal circumstances, taking into consideration priorities in other areas of the State and current population growth projections, the Education Department would only have been due to build a school at Landsdale in 1999.

The school building would be of a similar exterior design and quality to luxury park homes. However, on the inside they would be indistinguishable from other modern schools.

Mr Barnett said that the transitional school had the unanimous support of parents in the area.

Planning was already under way to design the school to Education Department specifications. It was hoped that the school could be operational in the second half of 1997.

"We now have the ability to provide a top quality school for the short term and can locate it where it is needed most," Mr Barnett said.

"In the case of Landsdale, permanent schools more centrally located, will be constructed for the longer term.

"The concept is exciting because it has the potential to prevent an overuse of taxpayers dollars in the building of schools which are destined to stand half empty in years to come after population peaks and begins to decline in new housing areas.

"Experience has shown in the northern suburban areas of Perth that by the time the last school is built in a new housing area, the student population at the first is already in decline."

Mr Barnett said the Landsdale 'school of the future' would be constructed on an Education Department site. The department would lease the custom-built school facilities and detailed costings were now being discussed.

After a fixed period of 10 or 12 years, when new permanent schools were ready at other sites in Landsdale, the whole complex could be moved elsewhere.

The Minister said the innovative project had been driven by parents in Landsdale, who saw it as an opportunity to have a local school for their children at least two years ahead of schedule.

He also thanked local MLC, Iain MacLean, the Member for the North Metropolitan region, for his efforts to discuss the issue with the community, saying these discussions were instrumental in the decision to build a transitional school, unanimously supported by parents.

Mr Barnett said the Education Department had considered a 'school in houses' for Landsdale, using the successful Ellenbrook school in houses as a model. However, there were already too many children of school age in Landsdale for such a school.

"While a temporary school appeared to be the answer for Landsdale, it needed to be different from anything else tried before in Western Australia," the Minister said.

"The notion of a totally relocatable school was suggested to parents by the Education Department's planning team, and it met with unanimous endorsement."

The new school will be similar in concept to three already operating in the Eastern States - Holy Spirit Primary in Nicholls, Canberra, Montessori School in Fig Tree Pocket, Brisbane and Woodcroft College in Adelaide.

Media contact: Justine Whittome (09) 222 9699