The French Australian Preschool is calling on the community to help raise a $1 million shortfall needed to safeguard its future.
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The privately run preschool and its vast outdoor play area hold 40 years of fond memories for thousands of graduates and 128 current students.
However, the future of the bilingual preschool is at risk if the learning spaces, which have not been substantially modified since the school opened in 1969, are not upgraded to comply with Australian standards for early childhood education.
Director Veronique Danjou said the non-profit school was months away from paying off a $693,650 loan used to purchase the building and land from the ACT government in 2012 for $1,628,000.
But new financial demands are now upon them.
National Quality Framework Standards, being phased in from 2012 to 2020, require the school's five existing classrooms to have direct access to toilets and wash basin facilities and outdoor play space.
The school also must expand unencumbered floor space in each classroom from 54.2 square metres to 71.5 square metres.
The necessary improvements are expected to cost $2.5 million and a future phase two plan to build a sixth classroom will cost a further $1 million.
Since 2015 the ACT Government has spent $6.2million to expand 13 Canberra public preschools and a further $13.1million on upgrades and expansion of 14 government childcare centres, an ACT Government spokeswoman said.
Ms Danjou said the privately run pre-school was able to secure a business loan for $1.5 million but needed a financial lifeline to cover the rest.
If the renovations weren't completed and non-compliance continued Ms Danjou said the centre could face the prospect of closure.
"We have a long waiting list and there is plenty of demand but we, like a lot of places, have to make these changes and modernise for the future," she said.
The French Australian preschool raised its annual fees by 17 per cent this year and so far has secured $100,000 in a building fund.
Anita Gardner enrolled both her daughters in the preschool and said the bilingual offering "helped immeasurably with us settling in Canberra" after many years of living abroad.
Supported by the French Embassy, the preschool will hold a fundraising soiree at the French Ambassador's Residence on Wednesday, July 20.
Ms Gardner and the parents' organising committee will launch a "buy a brick" campaign, online crowd funding and an appeal for corporate donations at the event.
"ACT Woman of the Year, Amanda Whitely, is our guest speaker, we have a band called the Soul Plumbers and some of the musicians in it are fathers of children here," she said.
"We are also organising for a group of kids to do some singing as part of the proceedings."
She said the school was a cherished part of Canberra and all who had a connection with it were encouraged to get behind building its future.
The fundraising soiree will be Wednesday, July 20 from 6pm-9pm at Embassy of France: 6 Perth Avenue, Yarralumla. Tickets: $100.
Since 2015 the ACT government has allocated $6.2 million to expand 13 Canberra public preschools and a further $13.1 million on upgrades and expansion of 14 government childcare centres, an ACT government spokeswoman said.
