YMCA Victoria Point to add junior campus to its vocational school
A YMCA junior school for kids who don’t fit into the state education system will be built in the heart of a suburb which has had recent news reports of alarming youth crimes.
Redlands Coast
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A YMCA junior school for kids who don’t fit into the state education system will be built in the heart of a suburb where there have been news reports of alarming youth crimes.
State Infrastructure Minister Steven Miles has stepped in with a “ministerial infrastructure designation” for the junior campus of the YMCA Vocational School at Victoria Point, with plans for the school to open next year.
YMCA already has a senior campus at Victoria Point, which opened in 2020 but after Covid and a noted increase in youth mental health issues, a junior school was also required and designed.
For students to be enrolled, they have to be referred from their previous state or private school, or have a referral from a medical professional.
Victoria Point YMCA Vocational School head Michael Crosby did not want to comment.
However, documents registered as part of a ministerial designation show there was a definite need for the facility, which offers tailored programs for students who were no longer able to cope in the mainstream education system.
YMCA students, who are looking for an alternative education, come from all walks of life.
Although unable to comment on the state government’s punitive measures introduced last week to crack down on youth crime, a YMCA spokesman said the new campus would offer a viable alternative for many youngsters.
“There was already a need in the area but that increased during and after Covid and our enrolments rose from 20 or 30 and we are now at capacity,” the YMCA said.
“The facility will help with the youth issues in the area as it will give many somewhere to focus during the day where they are cared for and where the education is more flexible.
“Our programs help these kids to get jobs and plan their futures.”
The junior campus will be built on land at Link Rd, next to the existing YMCA centre which has an outdoor swimming pool and a full gymnasium.
The site is less than 1km from the Victoria Point Shopping Centre, a tavern and a 24-hour McDonald’s where two teens were charged last month for assaulting police and for public nuisance.
The shopping centre has risen as a crime hotspot with local residents, whose properties border the centre, claiming youths are out of control and running riot.
There is no suggestion of any links between the YMCA school and any crimes at the nearby shopping centre.
Police Minister Mark Bailey said Victoria Point would not get a police station but he would ask Police Commissioner Katarina Carroll to investigate increasing mobile police patrols.
The state decision to call a ministerial infrastructure designation for the YMCA junior campus project was confirmed in January after Mr Miles alerted Redland City Council he was proposing to take public submissions in November.
Public consultation was held between November and December with four submissions
received including from the council and adjoining landholders.
Submissions from nearby and adjoining residents did not raise significant concerns with the proposed development.
Matters raised by residents were addressed during the assessment of the proposal and the community was made aware of the project late last year.
A State Infrastructure Department spokesman said the ministerial designation was a way to streamline getting community infrastructure such as affordable housing, schools, hospital, emergency services and sporting facilities.
“In the case of YMCA Victoria Point, the organisation has committed to opening the Junior Campus in the third term of 2024,” the spokesperson said.
“The existing senior campus has about 100 student enrolments across years 10 to 12 and this is planned to grow to 110 students aged between 15 and 18.
“The proposed junior campus expansion will accommodate up to an additional 80 students across grades 7 to 9, aged between 12 and 14.”
When the school is completed it will have a total capacity for 180 students.
The ministerial designation stipulates opening hours and the construction of 180 on-site carparks along with keeping an existing bus zone.
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