Work is expected to start on Carinya Christian School’s middle school in August.
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The Gunnedah school plans to introduce Year 7 from 2019, with tenders for stage one of the major expansion project closing at the end of July.
The principal said Gunnedah Shire Council has signed off the development application for the entire project and the school has put in an application again this year for capital grants funding for the senior school building.
The completion date of the middle school will be announced after a success tender has been chosen.
The decision to expand was driven by growing enrolments and to provide more options for families.
Years 5-7 will be housed in the middle school building in Little Barber Street, with Years 5-6 to move over from the current school building, which is across the laneway. Year 8 will be introduced in 2020.
Stage two of the project is the construction of a senior school building, and stage three is construction of a new early learning centre. By 2022, Carinya will cater for prep to Year 10.
“We have six companies tendering for the project, which is great,” Gunnedah principal Chad Kentwell said.
“Once tenders are in and one has been chosen... we can announce a completion date.”
The floor plan for the middle school building is about 2000 square metres and will contain areas for staff, food technology, science, music, design and technology/visual arts, an undercover area, toilets, recreational activities, gardens and a car park.
“One of the great things about this is that our Years 5 and 6 students will have the opportunity to use secondary school facilities for learning,” Mr Kentwell said.
“It’s a model that no other school in Gunnedah is using.”
The school has already received initial registration from the NSW Education Standards Authority to introduce Year 7 and initial accreditation for the Record of School Achievement (RoSA).
“It means we’ll be an accredited school and can give a record of school achievement,” Mr Kentwell said.
The principal said there had been a “steady interest” from parents regarding the introduction of Year 7 next year, with the new middle school to appeal to those who would otherwise send their children to Carinya in Tamworth.
More teachers will be needed, with a core teacher, head of middle school and part-time teachers to be employed.
“We’ll have a head of middle school and that person will take responsibility for the development of the middle school and they will also be a teacher,” Mr Kentwell said.
As part of the school’s DA, neighbouring residents had to be consulted and Mr Kentwell said they’ve all reacted “really positively” to the project.
“They’ve all been great. No problems at all,” he said.
“They’ve been really easy to work with.”