A new school in the Molonglo Valley suburb of Whitlam will host 800 students with room to expand further.
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A development application for the new preschool to year 6 school and early education and care centre has been submitted, which includes a sport field, hall and two outdoor courts.
The designs by architecture firm Hayball show individual classrooms that open into collaborative learning areas.
The main building is a two-storey construction, including a library, staff room and administration buildings. The early learning centre and school hall will be single-storey buildings.
The main building wraps around the playground, which features a nature play area and separate playgrounds for the early learning centre and preschool.
![Artist's impression of the internal playground at the new Whitlam school. Picture supplied Artist's impression of the internal playground at the new Whitlam school. Picture supplied](/images/transform/v1/crop/frm/33pRA5ArzT57tWtt8VHHenS/33ca4693-bfa3-44cf-93d3-6b658590659d.png/r0_123_2414_1486_w1200_h678_fmax.jpg)
The school will have the capacity for 800 preschool and primary school students, with space for up to 1000 students in future. The early learning centre will accommodate up to 120 children.
The campus has 23 parking spaces for the early learning centre, a car drop off area and secure bike parking. More parking for the sports field and school has already been approved to the east of the campus.
The main entry to the school will be on the eastern side facing John Gorton Drive while the entry to the early learning centre and preschool will on the southern side off Sculthorpe Avenue.
The school will also have a yarning circle and a community garden.
The campus is located near the Namarag nature reserve which would provide opportunities for students to learn about Ngunnawal culture, the application said.
The school was initially meant to open for the beginning of the 2025 school year but the ACT government said the opening would be delayed to the start of 2026 because of "unavoidable impacts on the construction industry following the COVID-19 global pandemic."
![Artist's impression of the exterior of the new Whitlam school. Picture supplied Artist's impression of the exterior of the new Whitlam school. Picture supplied](/images/transform/v1/crop/frm/33pRA5ArzT57tWtt8VHHenS/b1084d85-ffec-4111-a36c-65d415af2939.png/r0_259_2529_1686_w1200_h678_fmax.jpg)
The greenfields suburb of Whitlam welcomed its first residents in September 2021. Currently students are in the priority enrolment area of Evelyn Scott School in Denman Prospect.
The ACT government budgeted $76.75 million to the new Whitlam school and spent another $27 million to acquire the land. According to the development application, the building works will cost about $59.5 million.
If the development application is approved, construction is expected to begin in the second half of 2024.
Representations on the development application close on March 12.