Sunshine College is expected today to sign off on plans for a $26.8 million redevelopment that will consolidate its four campuses into two.
Once complete, the project will allow the school to offer a Victoria-first education model based on Finland’s schooling system, with year 10 to 12 students able to choose career streams leading to either university or TAFE.
Principal Tim Blunt said the school would sign off on architectural concept plans this week.
“Architects are finalising drawings at the moment for consultation and tenders to build the new school will go out to builders later this year,” he said.
The redevelopment will see the school open a new “state of the art” years 7 to 12 co-educational school at Lachlan Road, Sunshine West, and new science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) facilities at its Northumberland Road campus, both in 2020.
The school’s “Senior” and Ardeer campuses will close at the end of 2019, when students will move across to the two new schools at the “West” and “North” campuses.
Mr Blunt said he first approached the education department in 2005 with a “vision for the future” for the school.
After years of planning, the model the school has come up with is based on research Mr Blunt undertook in Finland five years ago. It will see the school operate as two years 7 to 12 schools, allowing students to change from one to the other depending on their career aspirations.
“Both sites will run very similar years 7 to 9 courses and programs,” the school said in an information brochure. “At years 10 to 12, students will be able to choose a career stream leading to university or technology/traineeships and apprenticeships, similar to the way the schooling systems work in Finland, where students move off from secondary school to university or the polytechnics.”
State government funding for the project was allocated in the 2014-15 ($6.29 million), 2015-16 ($10.65 million) and 2016-17 ($9.9 million) state budgets.
Construction is scheduled to begin next year.
