The Essington School opens new preschool in Rapid Creek

A high performing Darwin school is opening the doors to its refurbished preschool almost a decade after the centre was decommissioned.

The Essington School's new preschool opens on April 22. Picture: Pema Tamang Pakhrin

The Essington School’s new preschool will open its doors on April 22 almost a decade after the early childhood centre was decommissioned.

The Essington School director of preschool Louise Fanning said the early childhood centre closed in 2016 and students were moved to an on-campus centre due to population demands.

Ms Fanning said the Cummins St building sat dormant since she closed its doors but the Essington community had long planned to refurbish and reopen the preschool.

The Essington School's new preschool opens on April 22. Picture: Pema Tamang Pakhrin

“It’s really lovely to go back, having seen how it was,” Ms Fanning said.

“But even though the building was probably a bit tired, the team were amazing – we always got a lot of feedback from families saying, ‘It doesn’t matter what a building looks like, it’s the love that’s inside.’.

“Most of that team is still with us and so we still carry that love.”

The Essington School's new preschool opens on April 22. Picture: Pema Tamang Pakhrin

Essington principal Paul Nyhuis said the purpose-built refurbishments were “magical” and he looked forward to seeing the school’s youngest community members thrive in the new facility.

It comes after the school reintegrated its senior students with Essington’s main campus after they were previously hosted by Charles Darwin University.

Mr Nyhuis said bringing senior students back into the fold and catering for the Territory’s youngest learners as one institution allowed the school to offer a seamless, comprehensive education.

“We often find we’ve got families that have already got young people at our school and then there’s a there’s a new addition to the family,” he said.

“[The preschool] is a nice opportunity for them to have that extra care, have that initial pre-learning, meet with other mums and dads and then it builds the family, the community.”