NSW school kids stuck in sprawling ‘demountable cities’: Search the full list

Sydney schoolchildren are being squashed into smaller playgrounds as ‘demountable cities’ take over their schools, with 150 schools stuck with more than 10 of the temporary buildings. SEARCH to see where your school ranks.

School kids have lost at least 200,000 square metres of play space in less than a decade to “demountable cities” in their schools, leaving parents questioning when the supposedly temporary facilities will cease to be a permanent fixture.

Despite being billed as flexible installations to “supplement permanent facilities” the volume of demountables in NSW schools has exploded over the last decade, rising from 4,538 in 2014 to 6,684 in 2023.

The 47 per cent increase equates to a conservative loss of 193,140 sqm of space now occupied by demountables on school sites, at a minimum size of 90 sqm per demountable.

Ten years ago only 52 schools had more than 10 in use, nearly tripling to 148. Of the nearly 1300 schools with at least one demountable, only 137 had any removed between 2022 and 2023.

Greater Western Sydney has the highest density of demountable facilities, including classrooms, libraries and admin spaces, Department of Education records show.

Scores of NSW schools have turned into “demountable cities”. Picture: James Gourley

As of 2023 Riverbank Public School in Riverstone had a total of 57 demountables and next door, The Ponds High School had 52. Girraween Public School has 45 demountables, while Bonnyrigg High School and Northbourne Public School in Marsden Park have 40 each.

Carlingford West Public School, which is in the early stages of upgrade works designed to replace its temporary facilities, remains the most demountable-dense with 75 currently on site.

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At Northbourne Public School, where the number of demountables have more than doubled in a single year, multiple parents said their children no longer take sporting equipment to play with at lunchtime because there’s not enough space.

“I asked my son (who used to take his football to school to play during lunch break) why he’s not taking his football this year,” mum Manpreet Kaur said.

“His answer was, “Mommy, There’s not enough space left to play with (my) football”.”

Bonnyrigg High School P&C president Ben Stewart said another demountable is already on order for his school, causing “growing concern” among families.

Northbourne Public School in Marsden Park opened in 2021 and already has 40 demountables on its grounds. Picture: Toby Zerna

“As the number of demountable classrooms increase, the sprawl also means our children have to walk much further between classes,” he said.

“Additionally, the high number of demountable buildings has encroached upon play areas, reducing recreational space for students.

Parents are advocating for the replacement of demountable buildings with a 3-storey facility that Mr Stewart said “will reduce our demountable numbers by 35 per cent on a much smaller land footprint”, and “help resolve our ‘demountable city’ issue”.

Carlingford West Public School has the most demountable classrooms of any school in the state. Picture: James Gourley

In Sydney’s north, students at St Ives High School have been forced offsite for lunchtime sport due to their 38 demountables leaving “very little playground left”, and are instead ushered across to nearby Barra Brui park to play.

P&C president Sarah Gibbons said “half the parents are up in arms” over the issue, fearing development rezoning in the area’s transport corridor will only worsen the school’s overpopulation.

“The department just keeps giving us more and more students, and so we just keep getting more and more demountables,” she said.

“Many promises have been made … but when do we get bricks and mortar?”

Demountable classrooms as seen at Oran Park Public School in 2019. The number of demountables has since fallen to just four. Picture: James Gourley

Play Australia CEO Robyn Monro-Miller said losing so much space to play will have a “critical” impact on the development of children’s brains as well as their physical fitness.

“We wouldn’t deprive children of sleep or a quality nutritious lunch, so why are we depriving our kids of play and open space,” she said.

“We are raising a generation that are clumsy and awkward, and that has long term implications for their physical development and health.”

Robyn Monro Miller, CEO of Play Australia. Picture: Matthias Engesser

Education Minister Prue Car blamed the previous government’s “failure to plan” and said the issue “cannot be reversed overnight”.

“The Liberals and Nationals were blind to the needs of families in booming suburbs,” she said.

“The NSW Labor Government is hard at work on our long-term plan to address the school infrastructure backlog … particularly in the northwest and southwest growth areas of Sydney, where this issue is most acute,” she said.

A Department of Education spokeswoman said demountables are used to manage fluctuating enrolments “in the short-to-medium term”.

“Where we identify long term enrolment demand, the department will provide new permanent facilities through upgrades, or new schools,” she said.

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