Meet Alison Rourke, the first principal of the brand new Gregory Hills Public School

A set of demountables as classrooms sounded like a hard sell to the principal of a brand new southwest Sydney school, but in just a few months it has all come together.

Alison Rourke, the Principal of Gregory Hills Public School, with Oliver Saunders, 7, and Mariah Paku, 5. Picture: Annie Lewis

It’s the school that a southwest Sydney community has been waiting years for, and it has finally opened with more than 200 students already enrolled.

For Alison Rourke, this is the third time she has been the principal, but it is the first time she has been at the helm of a brand new school.

It is a dream come true after 30 years in the education sector, she said, and a reality thanks to the passionate community of Gregory Hills who fought hard to see the school open.

“The community has been waiting a really long time,” Ms Rourke said.

“I’ve had conversations with some parents who said their children are now in year nine, and when they moved into this area, they were told the primary school would be ready for them. They have been incredibly patient.”

Alison Rourke is the first principal of the new Gregory Hills Public School. Picture: Annie Lewis

However, Ms Rourke said the community had not sat idly by, but worked hard to create opportunities for their children.

Petitions, meetings at the Gregory Hills Hotel, and letters to politicians were just some of the ways the group lobbied to have the school open.

A temporary site has been opened to cater for demand in the area while construction continues for the permanent buildings which will cater for up to 1000 students.

Ms Rourke was hired during the final term of 2022 and hit the ground running to ensure the school would be ready for its first students.

“I had a great team alongside me with a deputy principal and a business manager to start, and then slowly but surely our team grew and more and more people came together,” she said.

Shot of the site of the temporary school at Gregory Hills which is next to the construction site for the permanent school and the public park.

“It was beautiful for me to watch the numbers grow over time, we ended up with 80 kindergarten children, which was fantastic as a start, but only five students in year six.

“We have 141 of our 201 students in kindergarten to year two, so that’s brought about some really interesting challenges.”

Ms Rourke said the playground could be an “interesting” dynamic where the older children were trying to play soccer, but the younger students would run through it.

But, she said, it was heartwarming to see the different age groups interact.

There are more than 200 students at the new school which has been constructed while the new permanent school is being built.

“I think the community has been quite surprised by the actual look of the space,” Ms Rourke said.

“I was thinking ‘gosh, this is a pretty hard sell. How am I going to get these people to come from a beautiful school at Gledswood Hills to demountables here’?”

“But, when you walk around it, it’s got a beautiful vibe about it.”

Ms Rourke said the school motto of “collaboration, connection, and communication” underpinned everything they were doing at the school.

The play area at the temporary school at Gregory Hills.

Communicating with the staff, students and families was critical in ensuring the success of the school, she said.

“We are integral to the development of Gregory Hills, and very much the centrepiece of where people come together to communicate, collaborate, be together and connect,” Ms Rourke said.

“It’s been great to see the parents or grandparents coming to drop off their kids and then staying to have a chat in the park next door - we really are becoming a community.”

When the permanent school is completed, it will include 44 learning spaces, four support learning spaces, administration and staff facilities, a canteen, multipurpose hall, library, a covered outdoor learning area, landscaped outdoor learning areas, outdoor play areas including a sports court and a playing field, and carparking and amenities.

Early works, including site investigations on the permanent school facilities, is expected to start late this year.