Toowoomba’s Downland College makes first move towards junior school expansion

A top Toowoomba private school is ramping up its bid to have a full junior school by 2023, lodging plans for a campus expansion with the council.

Downlands College students (from left) Cohen Moore, Sophie Reynolds, Jaxson Parker and Sasithmi Kevitiyagala as the college announces it will take prep students from 2023. Picture: Kevin Farmer

A prestigious Toowoomba private school has taken the next step towards introducing prep students by 2023, after submitting plans with the council to expand.

Downlands College has lodged its proposal for a new wing at its campus along Ruthven Street in Harlaxton.

According to the report by Creative Planning’s Lynette Prince-Large, the new junior wing will add more than 1100 sqm of gross floor area to the school and cater for prep through to Year 4 in the same building.

“The proposed change to the land use is to construct a prep to grade four facility including classrooms, carparking and recreation areas,” she wrote.

PROPOSED: Concept art for the new Downlands College extension, which will allow the Toowoomba school to introduce prep to Year three students from 2023.

“It is proposed that there will be an additional 194 new students.

“The existing full-time equivalent staff numbers are 135 and the additional staff for the new facility will be 12.”

The school will also revamp the current driveway circuit from Ruthven Street to accommodate more parents being able to drop off and pick up children as young as five.

Downlands principal Stephen Koch revealed the expansion in August, saying it was in response to strong demand from parents.

The application also included reports into noise, waste, engineering and lighting.

PROPOSED: Concept art for the new Downlands College extension, which will allow the Toowoomba school to introduce prep to Year three students from 2023.

“We introduced years five and six in 2017, and then we’ve moved through to year four, so the natural progression was to go to prep to three,” he said.

“A lot of that has been driven from families requesting it.

“The focus is holistic in that it’s academic growth but also social development.”

Downlands will start work on the new junior wing next year, with the building expected to cost about $10m.

The Toowoomba Regional Council has yet to respond to the application with a request for more information.