Fortitude Valley State School could be hub for specialist education

A BRISBANE state school which closed amid controversy two years ago could soon re-open.

Fortitude Valley State School. PICS MARC ROBERTSON

AN ABANDONED inner- city school could ­become a hub for specialist education in Queensland.

The Fortitude Valley State School in Brisbane has sat ­vacant since it was closed almost two years ago.

The Courier-Mail revealed this year that the Education Department would miss out on up to $50 million by not selling the property. The Brookes St address is prime real estate.

But Education Minister Kate Jones said she had been involved in conversations to renew the site as an education hub.

“We have almost finalised the master planning for the inner city Brisbane schools, which will help inform the ­decision,” Ms Jones said.

“Whether it’s building out of the Advance Queensland plan we released a couple of weeks ago, or using it as a hub to showcase some of the new things that we are looking at, we ­anticipate we will have an announcement in the near future.”

The Advance Queensland plan includes a focus on digital technologies in the primary school years and expanding the study of cultures and languages from Prep to Year 12.

Fewer than 60 students attended the school when it was closed in 2013.