- Published:
- Monday 9 October 2017
Students in Melbourne’s inner city are one step closer to getting a new school with construction starting on South Melbourne Park Primary School.
Minister for Education James Merlino today joined the Member for Albert Park Martin Foley to turn the first sod and mark the start of construction on the project.
The Andrews Labor Government has provided $31 million to deliver this project and ensure inner city children have access to a great local school.
The school will open from Term One, 2019 and cater for 550 students from Prep to Year 6.
The new school will be a blend of new and renovated historic buildings, incorporating the old Albert Park Signal Deport and Drill Hall heritage buildings alongside modern new facilities.
The repurposed drill hall will house classrooms and a dedicated space for art, science and technology classes, while the mess hall will be home to the school’s reception, administration services and staff facilities.
The school will also have a new competition-grade netball and basketball gymnasium which will double as a performance space and a new two storey learning community building.
The project is part of a $2.5 billion Labor Government investment over three years to build the Education State, giving every student access to a great local school with a great education.
Victoria’s school building boom has delivered more than 1,000 school upgrades and 56 new school projects across the state, supporting almost 5,000 construction jobs for Victorians.
Quotes attributable to Minister for Education James Merlino
“We’re getting on with the job of building better schools right across the state so that local students have the facilities and classrooms they need to succeed.”
“This is an important project for the local community and by reusing the heritage buildings we will showcase the area’s history and offer students a unique learning environment.”
Quote attributable to Member for Albert Park Martin Foley
“The new South Melbourne Park Primary School will give local families and students access to great local classrooms in a state-of- the-art building that blends the old and the new in our wonderful Albert Park reserve.”