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The Canberra Times
The Canberra Times
National
Sarah Lansdown

Former Raiders captain promises expanded schools if Labor wins NSW election

Labor candidate for Monaro Terry Campese. Picture by Keegan Carroll

The NSW opposition promises to build a new public high school in Googong and expand Jerrabomberra High School in the first term if it wins the March election.

Labor would build a new Googong High School to cater for about 700 students with a master plan to accommodate up to 2000 students.

A portion of the Googong site would be earmarked for a future preschool and public school to develop a pre-kinder to year 12 precinct for future population growth.

Labor would also expand Jerrabomberra High School to cater for up to 1000 students.

The school currently under construction will be able to host about 500 students, but Labor claims this will cater for about half of the 900 students enrolled at Jerrabomberra Public School.

Year 7 and 8 students will begin learning in demountable classrooms at Jerrabomberra Public School this year.

Labor education spokeswoman Prue Car said her party would fix the poor planning decisions made by the current government.

"Many Googong families have simply missed out on attending Googong Public School because of the NSW government's delays in building the school. We can't allow the same thing to happen for the high school," Ms Car said.

"Families in Monaro deserve a community champion like Terry Campese representing them in NSW Parliament, who will deliver the school projects these communities need."

Labor candidate for Monaro, former footballer Terry Campese, said education was a priority for the community.

NSW Opposition Leader Chris Minns in Queanbeyan last month to launch Terry Campese's bid for Monaro. Picture by Keegan Carroll

"I said when I announced my candidacy that building a high school in Googong was a key priority - I'm thrilled to announce that a Minns Labor government will build it in its first term," he said.

"Labor will also expand Jerrabomberra High School, so every student in Jerrabomberra can attend their local high school."

"I want to thank the local parents and P&Cs who have been strong advocates for our local schools. Everyone deserves a quality education and I want to see the best education facilities in our region."

Googong Public School is set to open its doors for students from kindergarten to year 6 this year, but families in the new township will still need to send their children to Queanbeyan to attend a public high school.

Googong has about 7400 residents and is slated to grow to a population of 18,000.

Parents at Jerrabomberra Public and High Schools have been agitating for a larger high school, after winning a battle over priority enrolment areas excluding Jerrabomberra Heights.

They have also raised concerns over the school only having one science lab, supported by two general science classrooms, despite this meeting the current educational facilities standards guidelines.

The new Jerrabomberra High School campus is expected to be finished late 2023. It will have an initial capacity of 500 with possibility to expand to host 1000 students.

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