Castle Hill Public School: Calls for urgent upgrades to replace demountables

Parents at a school where enrolment has exploded in recent years are calling for action with more demountables set to be brought in to cope with numbers.

Parents at a school where enrolment has exploded in recent years have expressed their concerns over students being taught in several demountables.

Castle Hill Public School has been littered with demountables for years with 11 housing 17 classrooms currently on site.

Just ahead of the 2019 elections the NSW Government pledged a multimillion-dollar upgrade at the school after parents’ cries for the removal of demountables and proper classrooms to meet with the area’s growing population.

Castle Hill Public School. Picture: Google

At the time Castle Hill state liberal MP Ray Williams said: “Time frames for the redevelopment will be met because this upgrade needs to happen sooner, not later.”

Then NSW education minister Rob Stokes said he wanted children at Castle Hill to have the “best possible education opportunities.”

Yet two years on the school still has 11 demountables with more to be set up over the school holidays, according to parents.

Castle Hill Public School is littered with demountables. Picture: Google

The school’s P&C president Katherine Kirk said overcapacity at the school was still a very “real issue.”

Ms Kirk said the school’s capacity was capped at 624 students yet enrolment numbers were expected to be almost double at 1130 next term.

She said more demountables, planned for the school holidays, would encroach on the green space intended for the students to play in.

Ray Williams Castle Hill state Liberal MP

While funding has now been allocated to the school in the most recent NSW budget, no total figure or designs of the much-needed upgrades have been released.

On funding Ms Kirk said, “It's been a very long time coming.”

“We have really had to push to get these upgrades happening.”

The school’s P&C is now calling on the Department of Education to reveal a timeline and accelerate the upgrades.

A NSW Department of Education spokeswoman said $3.1 million has been allocated to the school for the 2021-22 financial year.

“The project at Castle Hill Public School will deliver new fit-for-purpose teaching spaces, an upgrade to core facilities and a support unit,” she said.

“The project will address the number of demountable teaching spaces on the school site and enhance play space for students.

“Further details on the scope of the project will be shared with the school community once NSW Treasury approval of the business case has been received.”

P&C secretary Erica Miller, who has children in kindergarten and year two, said she hopes at least one of her children can experience the new classrooms.

Castle Hill Public School upgrade. Picture: School Infrastructure NSW

Ms Miller said “long term strategic planning” was necessary because of many more residential towers set to go up near the school.

“If something isn’t done they will have to keep bringing in more demountables every school holidays.

“We have a large playing field but it’s slowly getting gobbled up by demountables.”

Mr Williams, who has been calling for upgrades, said he will be meeting with the education minister Sarah Mitchell.

“I have made several representations to the Minister regarding the status of Castle Hill Public School, and a meeting is being held with her to discuss the funding as soon as possible,” he said.