Gunnedah school to introduce Year 7 in 2019

A year after the NVI first reported the Gunnedah school’s plans to expand and introduce Year 7 in 2019, construction is almost complete.

The middle school is stage one of the expansion and will house Years 5-7, with Year 8 to be introduced in 2020. Stage two is the construction of a senior building so the school can introduce Years 9-10, and stage three is a new early learning centre.

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Shay Brennan Construction started work on stage one (the middle school) in August and will finish in the next month. 

The building is watertight, with interior painting finished on Friday. Cabinetry and joinery is under way and is expected to be finished next week. Carpets will also be laid next week.

After the interior is ticked off, the workers will progress to the outdoor spaces, installing paths and landscaping.

School principal Chad Kentwell said the contractor was doing an “excellent job” and “the quality of workmanship is high”.

“They work well together… [and] there haven’t been any problems along the way,” he said.

Mr Kentwell visited the site on Wednesday and said it was the first time he’d had a good look at the interior of the new building.

“I was just so excited,” he said.

“When I stood up on the balcony and looked across, I got goosebumps.

“I thought, ‘Wow’.”

Mr Kentwell said an occupation inspection for the middle school was scheduled for January 9, 2019. If it passes, teachers can start setting up classrooms from January 22, ahead of the new school term.

READ ALSO: Six years and seven plans for school to become one | Video, plans

When the current school term wraps up next week, Shay Brennan Constructions will also start work around the edges of the main school site, which fronts onto Barber Street. The work will be funded by the school  and aims to connect the two school sites, which are separated by a laneway. 

A breezeway will be created at the back of the main school site on the Little Barber Street side and meet up with a new pedestrian crossing in the street. 

The boundary fence that runs along the edge of the main school site in Little Barber Street will be removed and a new footpath will be laid, connecting to the paving at the front of the main school site. A parking area for a new school bus will also be created at the back of the main school site.

Carinya received $650,000 in capital grants funding in 2017 to build the middle school and has already submitted an application for stage two, the senior school building.

Gunnedah Shire Council has signed off the development application for the entire project, which will see Carinya cater for prep to Year 10 by 2022.