St Luke’s Grammar principal unveils plans for a primary precinct makeover
A GRAMMAR school in Sydney, which costs up to $23,000 per year, has unveiled its plans to build a four-storey educational facility that includes a rooftop playground.
Manly
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St Luke’s Grammar School has unveiled plans to build a four-storey educational facility which will include a rooftop playground.
The development will deliver a junior school building on the existing one-storey cottage, kindergarten and Year 1 site at the Dee Why campus.
Principal Jann Robinson said the development’s construction would most likely start in the December school holidays, with the building expected to open by 2020.
The junior school building would then be refurbished the same year, Mrs Robinson said, in a bid to include specialist facilities required for food technology classes, STEM and digital technology curriculums.
“Without this development we would have to gut the current building at some point, which would then require us to place demountables all over the oval,” she said.
“That would cause much more disruption to the students on campus, so we believe this is a very good long-term option.”
Mrs Robinson said the development would eventually go hand-in-hand with the long-term expansion of St Luke’s Grammar School — taking on and transforming 800 Pittwater Rd into a senior campus with a pool, gym area, cultural space and wide range of subjects in 2028.
The site — bought by the school during 2013 — now houses Officeworks, Fitness First and a radiography business.
To alleviate traffic congestion at peak times throughout the construction period, Mrs Robinson said the school would implement extended staggered finish times for junior and senior students.
“We’re really trying to make sure we move forward with our masterplan in the most sensitive way possible for our residents,” she said.
“We understand it can be annoying for them to live near a school, especially when people don’t park properly, and we don’t want to impact negatively on them.
“What we’re trying to do is make sure our school is well-equipped for the future.”
Mr Robinson said she was also looking to increase the number of students enrolled at St Luke’s Grammar School — by 100 — and was awaiting the approval of a development application submitted to Northern Beaches Council.