"Built to prepare students for the opportunities and challenges of tomorrow,” was how Education Minister, Adrian Piccoli, summed up Ballina’s new $40m super school.
The new high school, which will have 1,000 students and house state-of-the-art educational facilities, is being built on the existing school site and will bring together secondary students from the school with those from Southern Cross School.
The four-year project will facilitate the expansion of facilities for Science, VET, Creative and Performing Arts, as well as Personal Development, Health and Physical Education.
The announcement by the Minister and Premier was made alongside Ballina MP Don Page and The Nationals' candidate for Ballina, Kris Beavis.
While visiting the school, the Minister and Premier toured the internationally acclaimed Ballina High Marine Resource and Discovery Centre, which is run by Ballina High School.
Piccoli said that the school will cater to the learning needs of Ballina students by providing them the facilities and resources they need for their learning outcomes to excel.
"Built to prepare students for the opportunities and challenges of tomorrow, this high school will feature new flexible learning spaces so students can work on group and individual projects that require research, problem-solving and critical thinking,” Piccoli said.
"In 2015, Ballina High School will receive a flexible funding allocation of more than $700,000 to better support students, an increase of $386,000 since 2013.”
Piccoli added that Southern Cross School will also be given a sizeable allocation of nearly $600,000 to help fulfil its resourcing needs.
The $40m project is expected to be completed by 2019.