A new era in education

16/11/04
This week marked the beginning of a new era in education in the Maylands area, with the official opening of Maylands Peninsula Primary School.
Speaking at the opening, Education and Training Minister Alan Carpenter said the new $5.3million school was the result of an amalgamation between East Maylands and Maylands primary school.
Mr Carpenter said the opening of the school represented a significant milestone in education in Maylands.
"Celebrating its 100th anniversary last year, Maylands Primary School was an educational icon, but its buildings were outdated," he said.
"Facilities at East Maylands Primary School, which opened in 1954, were also significantly inferior to those now provided in new primary schools.
"The new primary school has an innovative design and modern educational facilities designed for the 21st century.
"It features 15 classrooms, a state-of-the-art library resources centre, a covered assembly area, canteen, music and art and craft facilities, an education support area, administration and staff facilities.
"It is equipped with the latest in computer technology, including modern computer workstations and fibre optic cabling throughout the classrooms."
The Minister said Maylands Peninsula Primary School would provide flexible programs and enhance the social and educational outcomes for local students.
He said the decision to amalgamate the schools and build the new school on the East Maylands site was the result of much time and effort invested by the schools' communities and the Department of Education and Training.
Mr Carpenter thanked the school communities, including parents and staff who had been involved in the development of the new school.
He said the Gallop Government's responsible economic management and four years of balanced Budgets enabled the $5.3million school to be built.
"The previous Liberal Government had five deficits in eight years, running down the State," he said.
"In contrast, the Gallop Government's strong financial performance has enabled us to increase the Education and Training budget by more than $1.551billion or 26.5 per cent.
"Since being elected to office in 2001, we have spent nearly $217million building new schools, an increase of more than $38million or 21 per cent on the previous Liberal Government."
Minister's office: 9213 6800