Glengala Primary School is set to receive a long-awaited upgrade during the summer months.
The Sunshine school will receive a new permanent modular facility to replace its asbestos-affected south wing, which will be demolished.
The new structure will contain a library and general purpose classrooms.
Glengala Primary School principal Kris White says it will help match the school’s facilities with its teaching style.
“These upgrades allow us to house half our school, so they’re incredibly significant,” he said. “The buildings are a flexible space, which is a key feature and the open plan allows our teachers to collaborate with students.
“The other major advantage with the modular building is that the way in which it’s designed means it can be added to quite easily and allows flexibility.”
The work is being done under the auspices of the state government’s Victorian School Asbestos Removal Program.
The 2017-18 Victorian budget included
$85 million for the next phase of the Victorian School Asbestos Removal Program, which aims to eventually rid the toxic fibre from all Victorian schools.
Demolition of Glengala’s south wing is scheduled to begin in December, with the project scheduled for completion in April 2018.
“The goal is to complete the demolition work in December when there are no students on site,” Mr White said. “Once that’s complete, the plan is to be using the new facilities at the beginning of term two next year.”
The upgrades are just the second time the school has received new facilities in 40
years.
“We received new facilities as part of Kevin Rudd’s Building the Education Revolution Program, however before that you have to go back to the 1970s,” Mr White said.
“We’re really excited. The kids and parents are thrilled to be having some brand new facilities to match what we’ve tried to build for the past four years.”
