Race-day riches, classroom crumbs: School on GP track pleads for help

A Melbourne primary school on the Australian Grand Prix track says it’s stuck in the financial slow lane while the state lavishes cash on the annual sporting spectacle.

South Melbourne Park Primary School sits inside Albert Park, and is trackside to the race each March.

Since the school opened in 2019, parents say they’ve pleaded in vain for the state government to fund fixes to basic problems – chief among them, a safe school crossing on a busy road.

Parents Melissa Jones (pink top), with her twins, Lauren and Sophie, with Katrina Walker (black outfit), and her daughter, Scarlett, outside the South Melbourne Park Primary school.Credit: Eddie Jim

The school council says the families of its 390 students are aghast at recent news that the state will spend $350 million on a new pit lane and on expanding the exclusive Paddock Club for wealthy race-goers.

The school council described the government’s move as adding “insult to injury”.

The government says it’s already helping South Melbourne Park Primary manage the unique disruptions the race brings each year and that it is working on new solutions.

Being on the Grand Prix circuit brings major issues, the school says, including a procession of semi-trailers from January to April to set up and pack down for the major event that pose serious safety risks for children.

The pedestrian crossing on one of the main access roads to the school, which is used by the big trucks, is not clearly marked and has no permanent crossing supervisor. Race-day crowds also churn up the school’s adjacent play area, creating what parents says is dust bowl in summer and a mud pit in winter.

The school closes for two days before the race each year. On one day, students are taken on an excursion; on the other, they stay home for a curriculum day. There is no compensation for the out-of-pocket expenses incurred by the school or families.

And despite its location near some of Melbourne’s wealthiest suburbs, South Melbourne Park Primary receives less funding than many of Victoria’s most under-resourced public schools.

School council president Katrina Walker said that after seven years of campaigning for what the school believes is modest funding to resolve its problems, she “saw red” when hundreds of millions of dollars for the pit lane work was announced.

“For seven years, we’ve been asking the Victorian state government for support – and for seven years, we’ve received nothing,” Walker said. “Despite dozens of meetings, we’re still waiting for action.

“The recent announcement of $350 million to be spent on redeveloping the Albert Park Pit Lane complex is galling and worse is the fact that the state government secretly ripped $2.4 billion from state schools.

“Our community wants to see change and action and investment in our children and future.”

A government spokesperson said it was working with the school on safety concerns.

“We are continuing to work closely with South Melbourne [Park] Primary School to address road safety during the Grand Prix,” the spokesperson said. “In the lead-up to the 2025 event, two additional road crossing supervisors were provided.

“There are long-standing arrangements where schools located near the Grand Prix circuit either close or relocate during race days.”

Start the day with a summary of the day’s most important and interesting stories, analysis and insights. Sign up for our Morning Edition newsletter.