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House of Assembly - Fifty-Fifth Parliament, First Session (55-1)
2022-07-07 Daily Xml
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Aberfoyle Park High School

Ms THOMPSON (Davenport) (14:40): My question is to the Minister for Education, Training and Skills. Can the minister update the house on the recent capital works upgrades at Aberfoyle Park High School?

The Hon. B.I. BOYER (Wright—Minister for Education, Training and Skills) (14:40): I thank the member for Davenport for this important question. It was fantastic to be joined this morning by the member for Davenport at Aberfoyle Park High School, which is one of our fantastic high schools in the south. It has about 1,150 students and is doing some really impressive things. It was a pleasure today to join with the member and get a tour of the recently completed $14 million upgrade for that school.

Aberfoyle Park High School, like quite a lot of our public education stock, was built in the 1980s. I think it's probably fair to say that there isn't a great deal from that period of architecture that has found its way onto any heritage register in this state. For that reason, there's a lot of work that we need to do to refresh and update some of our schools and the general learning areas at places like Aberfoyle Park High School, which were built almost 40 years ago.

That is what is being done, and it was fantastic to have a look today at what has been completed at the school. The member and I were fortunate enough to have a tour with the principal of Aberfoyle Park High School, Marion Coady, who will be known to many people in this chamber because she has given many years of service to public education in this state. I know the shadow minister would agree with me that there aren't many fiercer advocates for their school or school communities than Marion Coady. I think that's probably putting it politely.

To be honest, she is the kind of principal every school deserves. She fought very strongly for this upgrade to make sure that what is delivered as part of the $14 million envelope is what the community wants now and what the community needs now and also what that community needs going forward into the future. I must say that it wasn't all smooth sailing; the project did hit a few snags along the way.

I was fortunate enough last year, when I was the shadow minister, to have a tour of the work that was underway. Marion informed me that the bedrock had been hit very close to the surface. There were going to be additional earthworks and footings needed to complete the build. These are the kinds of complications that often happen and result in more funding being needed to finish the project. Sometimes that can jeopardise what is actually completed in the end.

Fortunately, some fantastic work has been done here by the builders, by the architects, by the agency and also, thanks to Marion's fantastic leadership, to make sure that what the school first envisaged back in 2017, when the now Deputy Premier, then Minister for Education, announced a $10 million grant to the school, is actually what is delivered and what will be available for future generations of Aberfoyle Park High School students.

The highlight no doubt today was the opportunity to see the years 10 and 11 band play a performance of the Beach Boys' classic Kokomo. Kokomo is my second-favourite karaoke song behind—

The Hon. N.F. Cook: Did you get there fast? Did you take it slow?

The Hon. B.I. BOYER: I got there fast and took it slow, as the member for Hurtle Vale tells me. My first favourite song, though, is Raspberry Beret by Prince, which I'm sure many people will agree is a fantastic karaoke song. It was very special to see these young people perform such an incredible piece of music under the tutelage of their music teacher, Steve Kammerman.

The school is quite a large school, with 1,150 students, and they have a music program with 180 students. It is an incredible program. The quality of the performances produced there is quite breathtaking. As part of this $14 million build, there is a brand-new 250-seat theatre, where the students were performing today and where they will put on performances for their student colleagues and for the broader community into the future. It is a fantastic result. I thank the member for Davenport for all her work. I look forward to getting back there and seeing a lot of performances in the future from these talented students.

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