New state-of-the-art Meadowbank Education and Employment Precinct a step closer
A new state-of-the-art education precinct catering for students all the way from primary school to TAFE is one step closer to coming to Sydney’s northwest.
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A multi-million state-of-the-art education precinct for students from primary school to university is a step closer to being a reality in Sydney’s northwest.
The Meadowbank Education and Employment Precinct will include the state’s first technology-focused TAFE with its own digital technology hub along with two relocated and upgraded primary and secondary schools.
Demolition has recently finished on the former TAFE site and a head contractor for the works is soon to be awarded, with construction expected to start later this year.
Meadowbank Public School and Marsden High School will be relocated to the precinct, 10km east of Parramatta, to cater for 1000 primary school students and 1500 secondary school students when complete.
The schools will feature modern multistorey buildings providing flexible learning spaces and under-croft areas to house games and sports courts, according to initial Master Plans.
There will also be plenty of green space for sporting and recreational activities as well as a separate learning centre providing intensive English classes for 120 students.
TAFE NSW Meadowbank will be transformed into a flagship digital and technology-focused campus at the precinct in a $154 million state government upgrade.
Just a stone’s throw away from Australia’s ‘Silicone valley’ Macquarie Park, the precinct aims to connect students to training and employment opportunities with local industry.
Equipping students for the jobs of the future will be a modern curriculum with units such as cyber security as well as flexible new learning spaces in a new Multi-Trades and Digital Technology Hub.
The hub located on the eastern side of the TAFE site will provide modern spaces that are digitally interactive and focused on collaborative industry training in a multistorey building.
Ryde local MP Victor Dominello said: “I’m so proud to have this in my backyard. It’s one of the largest single investments into a TAFE at $154 million.
“People should be excited about it. It’s huge. Artificial intelligence, robotics, it’s the jobs of tomorrow,” he said.
He said the TAFE will almost work as a “feeder” allowing some students to move into jobs at Macquarie Park after their studies.
With the railway station just metres away, students will also have easy access to train and bus facilities.
There are also plans to create new pedestrian and cycle ways across the railway line and across Victoria Road to increase accessibility to the precinct.
Ryde Council has also suggested a new north-south pedestrian and cycle route parallel to the railway line to connect the education facilities to regional routes along and across the Parramatta River to Rhodes and Sydney Olympic Park, according to the initial Master Plans.
Construction is expected to start later this year with doors opening for the new TAFE and schools at the start of 2022.
