Science, technology, engineering, arts and mathematics boost for Katherine High School students

A Territory high school will get a $9.7m education centre as the NT government prepares to lift the lid on its 2023 budget. Find out where the science, technology, engineering, arts and mathematics facility will be based.

Students from Katherine High School, like Samantha Parton and Nikita Kruger, will benefit from a $9.7m STEAM Centre. Picture Katrina Bridgeford.

Katherine High School is set to have a new education centre worth $9.7m, following an announcement by the NT government on Thursday ahead of its budget reveal next month.

The STEAM centre will contain science, technology, engineering, arts and mathematics facilities to prepare Katherine students for future jobs in the region.

NT Education Minister Eva Lawler said the centre would be a “lovely revitalisation” for the regional school.

“Whether it is working in technology, working in defence, or working in those civil contracting areas, we need Territory kids to be prepared for those jobs for the future,” she said.

The facility will be the fourth of its kind in the NT, with STEAM centres at Darwin High School and Taminmin College and a third nearing completion at Dripstone Middle School.

Ms Lawler said she hoped the new investment would attract more teachers and families to live and work in Katherine.

Katherine High School principal Nick Lovering said he was excited about the new project, which is set to be completed early to mid-2024.

“The facilities at Katherine High school need the investment and we’re really looking forward to being able to provide opportunities for your young people to work in collaborative spaces, spaces that develop those important skills that contribute to those jobs of the future,” he said.

The high school was constructed in 1988,

Mr Lovering said the community had been lobbying for new upgrades for a long time.

“To see the announcement today and to know this work is going to come to fruition is really important for our school and the broader community of Katherine,” he said.

School funding is set to be a major point of discussion at the upcoming Territory budget.

One recent report by the Australian Education Union indicated almost 20 per cent of schools in the NT did not meet the School Resource Standard, a minimum threshold of public funding needed to meet students’ educational needs.

Ms Lawler said engagement and attendance in rural schools, in particular for Indigenous students, would be a focus for education funding.

The NT government is set to announce the rest of its budget in May, and finalise it in July this year.