Inner city Brisbane locals are soon to see their wish for additional schools become a reality, with two new schools set to be built and West End State School slated to be expanded.
The positive news was announced by the Queensland government, which is allotting $500 million for the three projects. This is in response to the clamour of parents in the inner city area for additional schools as current schools are over their capacity. The budget falls within the Building Future Schools Fund of the government.
Part of the plan is the use of the former site of Fortitude Valley State School, which was previously planned to be sold. A new school will be constructed on that site and classes should start by 2020. This school will be built in partnership with the Queensland University of Technology.
A new location is yet to be determined for the other new school planned to be built in the inner-south. This will be delivered with the help of the University of Queensland. Once built, it would become an alternative to Brisbane State High School.
West End State School will also receive funding for its expansion to accommodate an increasing number of students. The plan involves the purchase of a lot parallel to the school, on Horan Street. This lot will be used for the additional classrooms.
Responding to Population Growth
The $500-million fund is a direct response of the government to the long-standing education issue in the inner-city area. Parents have been expressing concern over the inadequate number of schools to meet the demand of a growing population in the area.
The stronger demand for schools is a result of the rapid increase in the number of apartments in the area. In fact, a large number of students in the inner city area was found to be living in apartments.
Read: West End Apartment Boom Causing Public School Overcrowding
Read: How the Apartment Industry in West End is Causing Problems for Schools
Because of the lure of the inner city in terms of lifestyle and the quality of education, people from the outer suburbs are trading their houses for apartment life in the inner city.
Each of the two new schools will have a capacity of 1,200 to 1,500 students, while West End State School will increase capacity from 952 students to 1,500 students.
