Macedon Ranges schools get $20 million windfall

MACEDON Ranges schools are rolling in the money with $19.6 million in upgrades — and Gisborne Primary School is the big winner.

Gisborne Primary School principal Julie Soutter and students in the gym which will be replaced thanks to State Budget funding. Picture: Rob Leeson

MACEDON Ranges schools are rolling in the money with $19.6 million in upgrades announced last Friday.

Gisborne Primary School is the big winner in the surprise State Government announcements, with $10 million for a new gymnasium and extra classrooms.

There will be $3.2 million for the Romsey Primary School to expand from P-6 to P-9, $2.2 million to go to upgrades at Riddells Creek Primary School and $4.2 million for a new multipurpose room and art shed at the Sunbury and Macedon Ranges Specialist School campus in Bullengarook.

Gisborne primary principal Julie Soutter said her school had been working with architects on how to best allocate $1.6 million it had been given last year.

Flush with another $10 million, a lot more expansive planning will go ahead around plans to demolish the existing gym and replace it with a purpose-built centre. “There will definitely be a community component to it in the same way the secondary college allows its gym to be used by the public,” Ms Soutter said.

There will be more classrooms for the school, which is almost at capacity with 489 students.

The $3.2 million for Romsey primary was a win for the broader community, principal Loren Peavey said. “Currently we have 43 Year 6 students who next year will go off to 11 different secondary colleges outside of Romsey,” she said. “Some of them are probably not ready to be travelling by bus daily ... but now we have a chance to build a larger school to Year 9 around a STEAM curriculum (science, technology, engineering, art and mathematics).”

With an 11.2ha site in Station St and a growing community, there were some great expansion opportunities, Ms Peavey said.

The same optimism was expressed by Riddells Creek Primary School’s acting principal Amelia Desormeaux.

“Bricks and mortar is what we need and we have some portables and other elements we’d like to see the back of,” she told the Leader.

Sunbury and Macedon Ranges Specialist School principal Joanne Nolan said the money would enhance learning options with new facilities for arts and drama, food technology and automotive.

Macedon state Labor MP Mary-Anne Thomas said it was an incredibly exciting day for students, families and teachers

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