First look at the $6.4m Cooloola Christian College upgrade

One of Gympie’s most prestigious and fastest growing schools is planning a game-changing development that will benefit the broader community. See the video:

A new $6.4 million primary centre is only the tip of the iceberg for Cooloola Christian College’s growth this decade, with the school planning to add at least one other pricey addition in the future too: an indoor sports centre.

The school’s intended transformation, captured in its 2021 master plan for the Southside campus, is now well underway, with ground breaking on the primary centre ahead of the December school holidays.

The new centre will include eight new “state-of-the-art” classrooms with amenities, as well as an open central courtyard with benches for students, principal Ross Waltisbuhl said.

It is expected to be finished in mid-2024, and was not the last significant change in the pipeline.

A new indoor sports complex was on the cards too, although when it would become reality hinged on the student cohort.

Construction of the new primary centre at Cooloola Christian College is underway.

“Each of those next stages is built on enrolment growth,” Mr Waltisbuhl said.

There was no doubt it was growing though.

The latest figures from the federal government show the school’s cohort grew by 14 per cent between 2018 and 2023, from 408 to 464.

It was the eighth largest increase in enrolment numbers in the Gympie region.

Cooloola Christian College Year 12 formal 2023

Cooloola Christian College members at the primary centre ground breaking ceremony. Left to right: Imogen Bramley, principal Ross Waltisbuhl, Phillippa Smith, business manager Paul Suffolk, Pax McAllister, Pastor Ben Cumerford, P & F president Jenny Parker, Madison Alabaster, board director Adam Renwick.

Mr Waltisbuhl said the school would happily throw open the doors of the complex to outside groups.

“When that happens we will definitely be partnering with community sports groups,” heMr Waltisbuhl said.

The need for an indoor sports centre to cater for the region’s rapidly growing sports groups has been a hot topic among residents for several years.

100+ smiles: Five years of CCC formals

A new centre would allow the school to cater to its growing arts offerings – he said dance in was particular “off the charts” – by refurbishing the school’s hall.

Almost one third of the funding for the primary centre ($1.92 million) has been provided by the state government through capital grants.

Originally published as First look at the $6.4m Cooloola Christian College upgrade