Arthur Phillip High School high-rise ‘nightmare’ for students
There are fears of further opening delays for the 17-storey Arthur Phillip High amid cost blowouts and predictions of a navigation nightmare around the school for the 2000 students.
There are fears the state’s first skyscraper school faces further opening delays amid predictions of a logistical nightmare for 2000 students in the 17-storey building.
Parramatta’s Arthur Phillip High was originally slated to open in early 2019, but the State Government pushed it back until at least term four after a series of planning woes.
Costs for the project — which includes neighbouring Parramatta Public School — have blown out by $225 million to $325 million, which the Opposition says could be used to build five new schools to ease overcrowding pressures in the northwest.
“This is a failed experiment,” Labor’s education spokesman Jihad Dib told the Advertiser yesterday. “The Minister (Rob Stokes) says we now need to consult people (to fix the problems), but here’s the thing: they didn’t consult properly to begin with. This a common failing of this government.
“The way this project is going, I think they’ll be struggling to open the new school by term four.”
The former Punchbowl Boys’ High School principal said the logistics of moving hordes of students during changeover periods in a high-rise school was “always going to be a problem”.
“Not only is it highly impractical, but from an educational perspective, it just doesn’t work,” Mr Dib said.
“Also, we don’t know the capacity of the lifts, so you could potentially lose an hour a day of learning time because a kid’s not going to walk up 17 flights of stairs.
“It’s going to be a logistical nightmare.”
Mr Stokes hit back, saying the new Arthur Phillip High would be “an example of efficient and responsive design” as he promised: “It will be open for students from the start of term four this year.
“The redevelopment and expansion of both Arthur Phillip High School and Parramatta Public School will provide future-focused learning and teaching facilities to accommodate up to 3000 students,” he said.
“These are priority projects to meet growth in primary and secondary students in and around Parramatta.”
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