By ALENA HIGGINS
THE first three-storey building constructed in Warwick since the hospital will be unveiled next week, marking the final stages of Queensland’s sweeping education reforms.
From 2015, Year 7 will become the first year of high school in Queensland, and to accommodate the influx of students, Warwick State High School has received a brand new building.
Equipped with all the latest mod cons, the 16-classroom facility will house the incoming Year 7 students as well as the incoming Year 8 students, principal Cheryl Bullion said.
“We are very fortunate to receive the facility as part of the Flying Start agenda,” she said.
“It has been designed in such a way that it will not only have single classrooms, but there are also collaborative spaces and flexible learning areas, and areas that can open into multiple classrooms that allow teachers to utilise the space for the best pedagogy.”
Moving Year 7 to high school follows other major changes, such as the introduction of a Prep year in 2007 and raising the school starting age by six months in 2008.
The change will also bring Queensland schools in line with the rest of the country, except for South Australia.
Offering an abundance of natural light, the multi-million dollar building, which reached practical completion last week, has also been future-proofed, with the open ground floor able to be filled in.
Care has also been taken as much as possible to marry the old with the new.
“We have chosen bricks at each end like the ones in this old building and heritage colours…and we were careful of the design of the atrium,” Ms Bullion said.
“So while the designers were never going to make a new building look old they were very respectful of the heritage.
“We were very fortunate to have had a good working relationship with the contract builders, McNabs, and Project Management firm, Davis Langdon.”
As well as the building, the school has received two new multi-purpose courts, which replace the old ant bed tennis courts, and three new tennis courts which take pride of place on Hamilton Oval.
Ms Bullion said current Year 6 students were “chomping at the bit” to get to high school and years of meticulous planning would ensure a smooth transition.
To prevent overwhelming the newcomers, Year 7 and Year 8 students will only be exposed to three or four core teachers and a dedicated “safe” junior secondary area, known as the Cunningham Oval precinct, will be established for students in Years 7, 8 and 9.
A spokeswoman for the Department of Education, Training and Employment said up to 1300 extra teachers would be recruited for secondary settings in 2015.
“A register of interest for these teaching positions in Junior Secondary settings opened in September 2013 for current primary teachers as well as pre-service and aspiring teachers,” she said.
The public is invited to see the facility for themselves during an open afternoon on 3 December from 3.30pm to 5.30pm.
