Comparison photos show how Ballarat schools have changed in the past decade

Spectacular aerial imagery show how the landscapes of Ballarat’s schools have changed in the past decade. See the dramatic comparison photos here.

Much can change in a decade — and the landscapes of our educational institutions are no exception.

Aerial imagery by Nearmap shows schools in the Ballarat region have experienced significant growth and change over the years.

Siena Catholic Primary School in Lucas opened in 2017.

Principal Chris Kavanagh said the school now had 240 enrolments, up from double digits at its inception, with a view to increase that number to 270 next year.

“We’re at the stage now that there’s three main classroom buildings that house all the children, an administration area, and a multipurpose room,” he said.

“But there’s still a ways to go: we’ve still got an oval to develop and some of the outdoor spaces to develop.

“We hope in a year the still-paddocky look would be an oval and another court area and a formal garden.”

Another school whose footprint has grown significantly since 2011 is Phoenix P-12 Community College, specifically its Sebastopol campus.

Principal Karen Snibson said the college had made a “dual investment” into community-focused and educational infrastructure.

“Probably the unique thing about our school is we see ourselves as a community precinct,” she said.

“The shift in our footprint includes considerable upgrades of both our community faciliates as well as learning facilities.”

Ms Snibson said major work in past years included upgrading the school’s ‘community learning hub’ and most classrooms, as well as the introduction of a dental clinic.

“At the moment we’re just weeks away from capital works which are developing a shared indoor training space,” she said.

“We’ve grown: certainly 10 years ago we were very early into our journey as Phoenix P-12 Community College.

“Now ten years down the track we’re at a student body of 1650 students.”

See the comparison pictures of 16 Ballarat schools below.

All photos are courtesy of Australian location intelligence company Nearmap, which provides government organisations, and architectural, construction, and engineering firms with easy, instant access to high-resolution aerial imagery, city-scale 3D content, artificial intelligence data sets, and geospatial tools to assist with urban planning, monitoring, and development projects in Australia, New Zealand, and North America.