Wednesday, 23 October 2019
WITH demolition works complete and scaffolding and freshly poured concrete now towering over the Armidale Secondary College construction site, Northern Tablelands MP Adam Marshall has inspected progress on the $121 million development.
Mr Marshall said the project was on track for practical completion late next year, ahead of the school students and staff moving in for the start of the 2021 school year.
This month marks a major milestone for the new school, with all demolition works complete and construction of level one and two of all new buildings taking off.
“This is an exciting moment in the life of this development with the knockdown of the old buildings, remediation work and preliminary earthworks complete the project has officially moved from demolitions phase into fast-paced construction,” Mr Marshall said.
“From now we will start to see the first buildings start to take shape with contractors Richard Crookes Construction erecting the steelwork for the Level 1 roof and installing a large gabion retaining wall.
“Nothing is going to waste in this project with the bricks which made up the former Armidale High School buildings being crushed and recycled for the retaining walls.
“It’s fantastic to see the heritage school building being brought back to life in front of our eyes with the roof replacement and the internal refurbishment of what will be an integral component of the new school.”
Mr Marshall said the State Government had recently reaffirmed its support for the construction of a first-class sports centre at the school.
“I had a meeting with Minister for Education Sarah Mitchell who once again gave her overwhelming backing for the redevelopment of the old Armidale High School building known as The Den,” Mr Marshall said.
“The inclusion of The Den in the new Armidale Secondary College is an important link to the past and soon we will see it expanded into a three-court indoor sports facility with plenty of parking and undercover access.
“This facility will cater for all manner of indoor sports and will also act as a central space for student assemblies and ceremonies, able to seat hundreds of students at a time.”
New digital artist’s impressions of the school’s classrooms and the administrative building have now also been released by the Department of Education.
Mr Marshall added the digital images offer the first glimpse inside what will be the most advanced school on the western side of the Great Dividing Range.
“These classrooms mark a move towards flexible education with large open workspaces, opportunity to connect to the latest technology and access to the latest learning resources,” he said.
“The facilities will allow Armidale Secondary College to offer a greatly-expanded curriculum delivering the full range of Stage 6 (Years 11 and 12) subjects, with the potential to provide all Vocational Educational Training (VET) Framework
“I think it’s exciting to see so many communal learning spaces which can be adapted to cater for a variety of courses and where the school’s 1,500 students will be encouraged to study and collaborate together.
“This school represents the adding of another ribbon to our region’s bow, to attract and retain more families to our region and grow the local economy.”