Catholic schools merge as Mount Carmel College with focus on VET studies in Port precinct
The shipbuilding workforce of the future needs students to be in the pipeline as early as possible. That’s one of the aims of two schools joining together.
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Smoother pathways into Defence jobs, especially shipbuilding, will be created with Catholic primary and secondary schools on LeFevre Peninsula combining into a single R-12 school.
Our Lady of Mount Carmel Parish School will merge into Mount Carmel College with the combined school expected to increase by 250 students to 1150 by 2030.
Mount Carmel College also will have under its wing the Western Technical College which will benefit from a $4.7m investment being jointly funded by the State Government.
“I’m a strong advocate of vocational education being thought about much earlier,” said John Konopka, who will be principal of both Mount Carmel and Western Technical colleges.
“Many students only think about vocational education when they get to Year 10 or 11.
“But it’s a State Government priority to have vocational education at the forefront for students from upper primary.
“This will give opportunities for primary students to experience the facilities of a secondary school.”
The merger will begin in 2022 with planning next year on redevelopments at the two campuses with an initial $17m budget.
“We’ll be consulting communities on the expansion with both the primary and secondary school looking at building programs,” Mr Konopka said.
“It’ll be a considerable investment over the next five to seven years.”
Fees for primary students are due to reduce next year and families will benefit from having a single registration process and common uniform.
SA Commission for Catholic Schools chair Denis Ralph said the merger was in response to calls by families.
“This will be the first R-12 Catholic coeducational college in northwest Adelaide,” he said.
Principal of Our Lady of Mount Carmel Parish School Jenny DeGilio said there would be “more collaboration and continuity in our teaching and pastoral care”.
The Western Technical College will replace the Rosewater Trade Training Centre which is adjacent to Mount Carmel.
“It will look particularly at the trades in demand in the Port area, especially Defence and maritime industries,” Mr Konopka said.
Courses run by Rosewater such as metal engineering, manufacturing, carpentry and hair and beauty will continue.
The investment – some $3.3m on new buildings and $1.4m on equipment – will enable the college to offer courses in electrotechnology, automotive and information and communication technology.
Currently, about 300 students a week attend Rosewater but this will grow to 750/week at Western Technical College.
Students from Mount Carmel as well as other independent, Catholic and government schools will do courses at Western Technical.
Catholic Education SA announced in February that Galilee Catholic School will become a campus of Cardijn College at Noarlunga Downs from 2021.
It will open a new campus of Xavier College at Two Wells in 2021 and a new Catholic Secondary College in the Riverland in 2022.