Lennox Head Public School to be rebuilt on fresh site

A new site for a North Coast school has been secured after the discovery of Aboriginal artefacts stopped scheduled upgrades. See what will now happen.

The new site for the Lennox Head Public School on the corner of Montwood and Snapper drives, Lennox Head.

A North Coast school upgrade stopped when Aboriginal artefacts were discovered will now be rebuilt at a different location.

A site five kilometres away on the corner of Montwood and Snapper drives will be the new home for the Lennox Head Public School.

The four hectare lot in the Epiq estate south of the Lennox Head village provides ample space for a new school and is located close to housing and local amenities.

The new site for the Lennox Head Public School on the corner of Montwood and Snapper drives, Lennox Head.

This comes after initial plans to upgrade the school were brought to a standstill when almost 600 Aboriginal artefacts were discovered on the site. 

Lennox Head Public School had been promised a two-storey expansion including eight new classrooms, a new administration building, special programs room and out-of-school-hours support facilities.

But a site inspection in late 2017 found an axe head and flake, sparking excavations by an archaeological team and Aboriginal parties in December 2018.

Ten test pits unveiled 596 artefacts including “implements and pounders” while there was evidence of “multiple types of raw material that are not local including opalite, chert and quartzite” on the school grounds, which was once a ”major Aboriginal camp site”.

With the school enrolments at capacity, the community was looking forward to the extra space for its students.

The upgrade was due to be completed in 2018 and is part of the state government’s $7.9 billion upgrade of NSW schools program.

A previous schematic design of the canteen and covered outdoor learning area at Lennox Head Public School, as planned by the NSW Department of Education's School Infrastructure branch.

Five years on the planned move to a different location will pave the way for bigger ‘core’ school facilities - a hall, library, canteen, flexible learning spaces and outdoor areas.

With the fresh site secured, work to finalise the business case and progress the design of the new school will continue.

Parents and school staff will provide feedback on the design of the school as it progresses.

Once the new school is built, students and teachers will relocate from the current site.

The cultural and historical importance of the current site has been emphasised throughout with continuous engagement between the department and representatives of the local Aboriginal community.

Lennox Head Public School principal Deborah Langfield said the news is “exciting for everyone in the community”.

“The new school will enhance the exceptional teaching and learning that is already at the school, and provide more opportunities to extend the learning of its students into the future,” Ms Langfield said.