Construction is officially underway at Calderwood Public School with ministers and MPs alike celebrating the milestone. Photo: Keeli Dyson.
Construction has officially begun on Calderwood’s new public primary school and preschool, with the Premier stopping by to turn the sod at the site as part of a visit to hear more about the needs of the community in the southern parts of the region.
A large empty lot right on the boundary of a town in the midst of a building boom is bound to become the site of hundreds of young learners with work underway to transform the space into the school the Calderwood community has been calling for.
“Clearly this is a growing community; clearly when you’ve got a new housing development with new houses you’ll have young families and young families need public schools – this is long overdue,” NSW Premier Chris Minns said.
“We know this is what local families in Calderwood have been crying out for for some time and we’re really proud that we’re ahead of schedule and able to deliver it,” Education and Early Learning Minister Prue Car said.
Construction is underway on the new school which will be equipped with 27 modern classrooms including three support classrooms, a library, a multipurpose hall, a covered outdoor learning area, administration facilities and a canteen.
It is set to open on the first day of first term in 2028 and will cater for up to 550 students, with an additional 120 children per week able to attend the public preschool at the same location.
But the minister vowed to closely monitor the needs of the community and consider expansion if the demand grew beyond capacity.
“We will be keeping an eye on that; I personally will be keeping an eye on that in areas like Calderwood to make sure that if it’s reaching capacity that we have a plan to counter that in the coming years to make sure that there’s minimal disruption on the local community and the students,” Minister Car said.
“If there is further growth that requires further expansion then we will be prepared to do that; we have to, these communities are growing and deserve a public school.”
Recruitment of a principal is to begin soon, with the hiring of other teaching staff to follow.
It’s hoped by providing a quality service right on the Calderwood community’s doorstep, that more families will choose the public system to meet their children’s education needs.
“This will remove pressure from local public schools as well as, we hope, attract more enrolments into public education,” Minister Car said.
“Because we do find that a lot of these new areas, the non-government schools have gone up quicker than the public schools so we hope to see an increase in public school enrolment as a result of this massive investment in Calderwood.”
The Premier was en route to a Community Cabinet session in Kiama, where he heard first-hand of the concerns and priorities of those in the area.
“We are putting the much needed investment that the New South Wales South Coast needs, that Kiama needs, and there’s more to do,” Premier Minns said.
“I can promise you that we’re not down here to do a victory lap, we’re here to listen to the community and think about the next rounds of investment that this community desperately needs.
“I think in some ways in the first three and a half years of our time in office it was catch-up, basic infrastructure catch-up, ensuring that we were doing the basics right for the local community.
“If we were to be re-elected in March of next year, we need to look at the next iteration – what are we building for the next generation? How are we growing the economy? How are we providing the kind of essential services that taxpayers down here need?”
Updates on the project will be on the NSW School Infrastructure website.
