$17.5m to redevelop three Wellington schools

Around $17.5 million will be invested to redevelop three more Wellington schools, Education Minister Hekia Parata announced today.

The schools are:

• Northland School - $8 million redevelopment
• Churton Park School - $6 million redevelopment
• Brooklyn School - $3.5 million redevelopment.

“These schools have experienced issues such as ageing or leaky buildings, so this investment will be welcome news for their communities,” says Ms Parata.

At Northland School, an old teaching block will be replaced and two additional classrooms built to help meet roll growth, while at Churton Park School, six classrooms and the library will be replaced.

Brooklyn School will have five teaching spaces replaced and the administration block repaired. Funding will also be provided to extend the multi-purpose hall.

“Today’s announcement means over $116 million has been announced over the last 14 months for school redevelopments in the Wellington area, including Aotea College, Wellington East Girls’ College, Thorndon School, Newtown School, Kelburn Normal School, Khandallah School and Ngaio School,” says Ms Parata.

“This year we have also announced over $6 million for 20 extra classrooms across the greater Wellington and Kapiti regions, to help accommodate roll growth.

“We’re committed to modernising school infrastructure, and providing new classrooms for schools that need extra capacity. We want to support students to achieve to the best of their potential, and providing the right physical learning environment is an important part of this.”

Churton Park School is a member of the Onslow Community of Learning (CoL) while Brooklyn School is currently looking at establishing a local CoL. CoLs are about increasing student achievement by schools working together to share expertise and lift the quality of teaching and learning.