By Jordan Baker
The NSW government has backflipped on its push for high-rise schools after its first attempt was plagued by cost blow-outs and delays.
Education Minister Rob Stokes said vertical schools were no longer a "preferred" option because they were complicated to build, less adaptable to students' changing needs and expensive to operate.
Construction at the site of the Arthur Phillip High School in Paramatta.Credit: James Alcock
"There was a lot of initial excitement about the concept of vertical schools," he said. "My ardour is not as strong in relation to them."
The first high-rise school, Arthur Phillip High at Parramatta, was supposed to open this coming term but has been delayed until at least term four after a problem-plagued construction. The cost, which includes neighbouring Parramatta Public School were originally estimated to cost $100 million, but has blown out to $325 million.
A second vertical school, Inner Sydney High, is in the early stages of construction and is scheduled to open in 2020.
An artist's impression of the new Arthur Phillip High School. The finish date and budget have blown out substantially.
The Herald understands about 18 new or renovated schools will open for term one this year, including new schools at North Kellyville, Lindfield and Bella Vista.
Mr Stokes did not rule out more vertical schools, saying there were some contexts - such as heavily populated areas - in which they were the only option. "But as something to look to do, that's not what I would choose."
The state's newest schools needed to be flexible and sustainable in order to serve many generations of school students over a century or more, but that was more difficult to achieve in high-rise buildings, he said.
"You don't have the same flexibility as you do when you can move spacially outward. When you are going up and down you are locked in once you've built it," Mr Stokes said. "Access to open space is obviously problematic in high-rise buildings.
"You've then got all the nuts and bolts issues of lifts and kids. You can do it, [but] it's harder to keep a lid on costs. Energy costs and those sorts of things are more difficult to manage."
Education Minister Rob Stokes has gone cold on high-rise schools in Sydney. Credit: Brook Mitchell
The lessons learned from Arthur Phillip will be factored into the construction of future schools, said Anthony Manning, chief executive of School Infrastructure NSW. "There are a lot of lessons in Arthur Phillip and we have to embrace them all."
The problems have included design changes, unexpected archaeological finds, escalating construction costs and a fire at Parramatta Public School, which is also under renovation.
Once built, high-rise schools also face operational challenges, such as moving 2000-odd students between classes, up and down stairs and into lifts. To minimise disruption, teachers rather than students will move between classrooms where possible.
Mr Stokes said he was on track to deliver his pledge of 12 schools a year, after a grace period to get construction started. "It's taken a couple of years to gear up - it takes two or three to build a school - and now we are starting to see the first fruits of that change in thinking," he said.
Builders are now up to level five of the 17-storey Arthur Phillip High School.Credit: James Alcock.
But opposition education spokesman Jihad Dib said 17-storeys was too high. "The idea of the high-rise was always impractical in terms of open space and proper learning environments and we've seen what a disaster that has been," he said.
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