An artist’s impression of the new Whitlam public school, which is expected to open in 2027. Image: Hayball.
Education Minister Yvette Berry remains confident that the Molonglo Valley’s next public school will open for Term 1 in 2027, despite delays already pushing the project back.
Ms Berry was at the Whitlam school site on Monday for a smoking ceremony marking the start of early earthworks.
The school will cater for up to 780 primary school students from preschool to year 6.
Planning for the early childhood education and care centre is also under way and will be developed in a future stage.
Now the project has commenced, Ms Berry said the government was looking forward to the school being completed on time.
She noted the timeframe was tight, but some of the issues that had been bedevilling infrastructure delivery everywhere, such as supply chain disruptions and labour shortages, were starting to dissipate.
Like the weather, many of these issues weren’t in the government’s control, “but I think we’re in a position now where we’re starting to see that shift”.
She said the steep site had also posed problems.
“It has been a challenging site, so it is a sloping site, but we’ve managed to navigate those issues now, so once they start, they’ll get going in and they’ll fly,” Ms Berry said.
There had been a lot of planning work in the past six to eight months with the builder Icon to overcome these sorts of challenges and make for a smooth build, she said.
Whitlam families have been disappointed twice in the past couple of years. The school was set to open this year, but the Suburban Land Agency announced a one-year delay in 2023, blaming industry delays caused by the pandemic.
In March of this year, the government stated that the builder had advised an updated completion date, pushing back the opening to 2027.
However, Ms Berry said the government was committed to the school opening in stages, starting on day one of Term 1, 2027.
“I know Whitlam will be watching very closely as this school builds and evolves, so I want to thank the architects SQC Group, as well as the builders Icon and Infrastructure Canberra, for the work that they’re doing to make sure that this project goes ahead, is timely and is safe for everybody who works here,” she said.
“I know that’s a bit longer than people were expecting, but we know once this project gets started, the community will get behind it.”
Ms Berry also announced increased support for public school students in the ACT Budget on 24 June.
The Future of Education Equity Fund will be boosted by $600,000 for the 2025 school year, enabling support for an additional 1000 eligible students through one-off payments for school-related costs like uniforms, books, excursions and extracurricular activities.
Additionally, $3.3 million over four years will ensure that all ACT public primary school students can continue to attend a free school camp at Birrigai each year, a program that began in Term 1 this year.
