Wentworth MP Allegra Spender says large publicly owned sites must be protected for a future public high school

A federal MP has warned “scale sites” in the eastern suburbs, like the Waverley bus depot, must be safeguarded from development by the state government for future use as high school sites.

Marjorie O'Neill said Labor is committed to upgrading Randwick Boys' and Girls' High Schools.

A federal MP has warned “scale sites” in the eastern suburbs, like the Waverley bus depot, must be safeguarded from development by the state government for future use as high school sites.

Wentworth Teal MP Allegra Spender says the Oxford St site is well-suited for an anticipated high school in Sydney’s east, amid concerns the state government could sell off the public land.

The Edgecliff commercial district, which is part of a draft masterplan to be redeveloped with 500 new apartments, is another location named as a potential school site.

Ms Spender has pushed for more public high school choice in Sydney’s eastern suburbs, calling it the issue raised “the most out of any local issue”.

“In the eastern suburbs we have no more land. We’re only going to get more and more dense,” Ms Spender said. “These are places that could potentially be great locations for a public high school. But if you develop them, those sorts of scale sites don’t come up very often so you need to be considering [that].”

Allegra Spender has supported call for a new site for a public high school in the eastern suburbs. Picture: Martin Ollman.

A public consultation – announced in early January with the purpose of addressing whether Randwick Boys High School and Randwick Girls High School should be merged to create a larger coeducational school – is now underway.

The independent NSW Department of Education-led consultation has fielded input from principals, parents and the wider school community.

A consultation is underway to gage interest to merge Randwick Boys High School and Randwick Girls High School.

Ms Spender, who has been advocating for more school choice alongside independent Sydney MP Alex Greenwich, said she had been “very disappointed” with the community consultation and the six options put forward.

“It is very narrow,” she said of the consultation.

“It [offers] limited options and it doesn’t give the option that most of the community I’m speaking to says [is what they want, which] is another coeducational high school in the east.

“I think we have to put all options on the table, not the sort of narrow set that suits the NSW government.”

Leanne Bergan pictured with her son Jack. Picture: Tim Hunter.

Member for Coogee, Marjorie O'Neill. Photo: Aymon Bertah.

Former Randwick Boys High School parent Leanne Bergan described the ongoing consultation as “knee jerk”.

“I think that it’s coming from political pressure. They’ve politicised our schools and that’s what annoys me,” she said.

Ms Bergan said the merger options offered a false binary, as creating a coeducational Randwick high school would also remove an existing choice. “If they’re talking about choice, you’re then removing the choice [with current consultation options],” she said.

Labor Coogee MP Marjorie O’Neill said she had been disappointed she was not brought into the process as “someone who has worked really closely with the community for the past four years”.

“It‘s become a completely partisan process.”