Construction on the first pre-school to year 12 school in the Queanbeyan region began on Wednesday with the turning of the sod for The Anglican School, Googong, which will open in 2015 for Kindergarten to Year 2 students.
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Presently only half a dozen houses are occupied in the new township south of Queanbeyan, but the Anglican church is confident the school will meet a huge demand in the region.
“A decade's research would indicate the population in this immediate area will sustain a school like this, probably a couple of times over,” Bishop Stuart Robinson of the Anglican diocese of Canberra and Goulburn said.
“The initial interest we've had of people moving into the area or people who are thinking about moving into the area has been overwhelming, so we think within a decade or so, we'll be able to fill a K through 12 school.” Bishop Robinson said.
Queanbeyan Mayor Tim Overall welcomed the new development with half the Queanbeyan area's high schoolers currently travelling across the border to schools in Canberra.
“It's been 38 years since we've had a new high school in Queanbeyan,” he said.
The school will be led by Ian Hewitt as the foundation principal, who currently serves as the director of education at Canberra Grammar School, will eventually have capacity for 1100 students, but start initially with just kindergarten to Year 2, with a pre-school to also open in 2015
It will roll out to year three in 2016, then year 4, with years 5 and 7 classes to begin in 2018, years 6 and 8 in 2019, with the rest of the high school years to be rolled out a year at a time after that.
“There's been an enormous amount of demand – we've had over 70 registrations for enrolment, that's [for] next year and beyond – but we haven't begun to advertise,” TASG board chair Graham Willard said.
He said fees for 2015 had been set at $6500 per student.
“That fits somewhere down the lower end – it's certainly less than Canberra Grammar, it's more than the Catholic systemic schools, but we believe it will be very good value for money when people see the buildings and the facilities and the fact it's on their doorstep.”
It will be a number of years until residents moving into Googong have a public school option in the neighbourhood, despite the town plan setting aside land for a state primary and high school.
Local state MP John Barilaro said residents will still have access to government schools in Queanbeyan and Jerrabomberra.
“In the next few years there will be consideration for a government primary school [in Googong], then of course there's pressure on the state government for a further high school in the region,” he said.
