Glossop High School

The Hon. T.J. WHETSTONE (Chaffey—Minister for Primary Industries and Regional Development) (15:13): It gives me great pleasure to rise today to speak about and celebrate a $17.2 million commitment made by the Marshall Liberal government to Glossop High School, one of the oldest secondary schools in the electorate of Chaffey. Importantly, last week the government announced that Glossop High School will receive funding to boost the redevelopment of the senior campus, to bring those from the middle campus to one campus to create efficiencies and to bring a regional area up to world specification, which is really important.

The history of the school is that they have been operating since 1941. Glossop High School is the Riverland's oldest, with a current capacity of 650 students. A partial redevelopment occurred in 1974 and the school completed the final stages of a major upgrade project in 1997. A new senior campus was completed in mid-1998, when years 11 and 12 students moved into the facilities at Berri.

The school services the towns of Berri, Barmera and surrounding communities, where there are seven government and three non-government feeder primary schools. Currently, the split campuses are located roughly 10 kilometres apart: the middle school campus is in Glossop and the senior school campus is in Berri. The middle school campus is located on the Old Sturt Highway at Glossop and currently offers years 8 to 10. The senior campus offers years 11 and 12.

What this means is that the $17.2 million in funding will create the capacity for 800 students, including year 7s for the first time, in 2022. The project will create a unified campus with modern, world-class learning facilities. It will deliver a new STEM space and the opportunity to create a new performance studio, new home economics and technology workshops, new administration buildings, additional car park spaces and upgraded home economics, performing arts and tech studies.

Students will have access to shared facilities with neighbouring TAFE amenities, including the sports fields, the newly built Berri sports stadium, the public library and other educational precincts. We know that the Riverland Special School is also neighbouring, so it potentially will become a Riverland educational precinct. By and large, it is something that the community has been looking for, but really it is about the students and giving them the opportunity to collaborate by bringing two campuses together and bringing the year 7s into high school in line with the national curriculum.

The distance between each of these campuses is approximately 10 kilometres. Currently, travelling time between those two campuses means that students, parents, teachers and staff are constantly on the highway between those two campuses. This creates serious time pressures for the staff and the administrators. We all know that access to quality teaching for all year levels will enable better preparation for the final years of high school and for the younger year levels.

The amalgamation and streamlining of the schools, particularly with the bus service, will create efficiences. We know that Glossop has a large bus fleet that brings students in from a number of neighbouring communities. As I said, this is about giving the students better opportunities and a better educational experience. The Glossop High School enjoys a proud record and is strongly supported and valued by the community. The rich history of that school will continue and be preserved as the school moves forward with the amalgamations.

I want to acknowledge the staff at Glossop High School: the Glossop principal, Emily Griggs; the Glossop High School council; and the governing council chair, Ann Schutz, who I have worked with over a number of years to achieve this outstanding amalgamation. I have worked with three school principals at Glossop on the negotiations for this amalgamation and it gives me great satisfaction that we finally have a government that has seen the sense in amalgamating these two campuses.

I am really pleased to have been able to deliver what the local community has been advocating for. This project is a clear indication that a Marshall Liberal government is supporting our regions and our commitment to the long-term future of our regional communities, because #RegionsMatter.