Skyscrapers and shopping malls the classrooms of future under Catholic Education Office plans

Schools in high-rises and shopping centres are part of radical new plan to meet booming enrolments while battling limited space in Sydney.

Imagine being able to drop your child at school, keep a doctors appointment and pick up some groceries, all in the same building.

Schools in high-rise buildings and shopping malls are part of radical new plans by the Catholic Education Office at Parramatta to meet booming enrolments while battling limited space.

Executive director Greg Whitby said the education office was looking at high-rise buildings and shopfronts in the Parramatta CBD in a reshaping of the education landscape.

He said schools would be embedded in the community with multiple campuses spread across the city using existing infrastructure such as ovals, gymnasiums, libraries and shopping centres.

Greg Whitby said a growing population had put pressure on school placements.

He said a consultant had been engaged to find suitable property and he had inspected some buildings.

There was no more land to build on in the area and with school waiting lists blowing out, educators were being forced to re-imagine what schools look like.

He said flexible school hours were also being considered.

“We don’t believe the future is in purpose-built buildings that are designed for use between 9am and 3pm for 40 weeks of the year,” he said.

“The bricks and mortar are not the future — we are talking about a whole different way people will learn.

“Parents need to be able to pick up and drop off close to work — minimise the travel, have access to doctors and chemists and physio because they are time-poor.

“So we are looking at opening a school in the urban area in a high-rise building, perhaps shopfronts, so that you can have the benefits that come from a city-living experience and at the same time attend school.”

Mr Whitby said leasing 7000 sqm of space in a new shopping centre could be a more practical and cost-effective way of meeting demand.

St Andrew’s Cathedral School inhabits a high-rise building near Town Hall in Sydney CBD.

The Catholic Education Office currently provides schooling for nearly 45,000 students which equates to one in four of all students in the region — the highest proportion of anywhere in Australia.

Mr Whitby said 10 years ago, there was only one Catholic primary school in Parramatta with 200 students.

“Just recently two years ago we opened the first new primary school in the CBD for 450 students and it is now full with a waiting list.”

He said the organisation had already begun adding preschools and out-of-school hours care to meet demand, collaborative and digital classrooms were operating and corporate partnerships were being pursued.

Mr Whitby said government schools were facing exactly the same problem.

Urban classrooms in skyscrapers and shopping centres are being proposed to cope with growing student numbers.

He said school routines would have to change.

“Younger and older students have different requirements and safety issues — in the 15 plus age group the business of attendance daily might not be required.”

Mr Whitby said the education office was also pursuing opportunities with corporate partners.

“For example, we have a school in Granville which has a partnership with Telstra that is working with us on a digital learning classroom — the Delany College Collective.

“Space doesn't do the learning — we need to challenge the imagination about where it takes place but the important thing is that kids are happy and they are learning.”

This high-rise high school in Chicago consists of three vertical schools.

High-rise schools are becoming increasingly common in the United States.

Chicago’s William Jones College Preparatory High School, a seven-story building that opened in August, is one of a growing number of skyscraper schools.

Classrooms are on the fourth and fifth floors; the lunchroom, auditorium and library are below; and the school’s swimming pool and gymnasium are on the upper stories.

Beacon High School on 43rd street, once a New York Public Library warehouse, is seven stories tall.

Georgia opened North Atlanta High, constructed for $147 million in an old IBM skyscraper.

It has 11 stories, a 900-car parking deck and views fit for a corporate executive.