$13.5m redevelopment for Ohope Beach School

Associate Education Minister Nikki Kaye visited Ohope Beach School in the Bay of Plenty this morning, to announce a $13.5 million redevelopment for the school.

Ohope Beach School is one of seven schools in the Whakatane community of schools.

“This redevelopment will see a new, two-storey block built containing 12 teaching spaces, along with a new administration block, library, carparking and drop-off areas and outdoor teaching spaces,” says Ms Kaye.

“Most of the school’s existing buildings will be demolished to make way for the redevelopment, apart from a recently upgraded hall and teaching spaces which will be integrated into the new design.

“Today’s announcement will be welcome news for students, teachers and the community, because the school has experienced a range of property problems, including leaky buildings and flooding.

“To mitigate the risk of flooding from a nearby stream, the redeveloped school will be built outside and above flood-prone areas. Parts of the site will also be reshaped to channel stormwater away from buildings during extreme weather.

“This has been a challenging project to design, but it was worth extra taking time to ensure the best possible solution.”

Local MP Anne Tolley accompanied Minister Kaye this morning to share the good news with the school and community.

“Ohope Beach School has a really strong partnership with its parents and whanau, and I’m thrilled with the new learning environment that the school will offer,” says Mrs Tolley.

“As with any major redevelopment, the focus will be on providing flexible learning spaces that support innovative teaching and learning,” says Ms Kaye.

“This is about providing children with an inspiring environment that helps them achieve to the very best of their ability.”

Work will now proceed on completing the design, with construction expected to start by mid-2016.

Notes:

About Ohope Beach School

Ohope Beach School is a decile 9 primary school located south of Whakatane. It has a current roll of around 258 students.

About innovative learning environments

Unlike traditional classrooms, where teachers addressed students from the front of the class, today’s teachers work more collaboratively with each other and with students, in small and large groups and individually according to students’ learning needs.

When new schools are built or existing schools upgraded, this is an opportunity to create comfortable, well-connected and flexible learning spaces that support the creation of an innovative learning environment.

These spaces can be changed to support a range of teaching and learning approaches on any given day, and are also able to adapt to broader changes as education practices evolve over time. Acoustics, lighting, technology, heating and air quality are of a high standard to help students concentrate on learning.