Sunshine Coast schools: Aerial photos show decade of change to school campuses

Incredible aerial photos have revealed how Sunshine Coast school campuses have changed over the past decade as the state government confirms plans for a new facility.

A decade of dramatic population growth has driven changes to several Sunshine Coast school campuses.

Nearmap aerial photography has captured changes to many schools across the region over the past decade.

It comes as the state government commits to another new primary school in Caloundra South to open in 2025 in its June 21 budget.

An Education Department spokeswoman said the new school would be the third primary school in the Caloundra South area.

A new state high school, new halls and additional learning spaces for Sunshine Coast schools have also been earmarked for funding.

SCROLL DOWN FOR OUR SCHOOL COMPARISON SLIDERS

Of the $19.6bn the government has set aside for education and training, $144.3m will be spent to maintain, improve and upgrade schools on the Sunshine Coast in the 2022-23 financial year.

Money will go towards the new secondary school planned for Palmview, a new hall for Chancellor State College, additional learning spaces for Kawana Waters State College, a new performing arts facility for Burnside State School and more.

Despite missing out on state government funding, a University of the Sunshine Coast spokeswoman said there was more expansion to come for its facilities.

“Since opening in 1996, the University of the Sunshine Coast has rapidly expanded in size, footprint and reputation, creating greater opportunities for regional communities from Moreton Bay to the Fraser Coast,” she said.

“We will continue to rise with all of our growing regions.”

The spokeswoman said the largest current project was developing the USC Moreton Bay campus, with construction recently starting of three more buildings at the Petrie site.

To cater for the Sunshine Coast’s growing population, the state government has opened three new schools in Aura, namely Baringa State Primary School (2018), Baringa State Secondary College (2021), and Nirimba State Primary School (2022).

It also opened Palmview State Primary School and Palmview State Special School in 2021.

Further north, Coolum Beach State School principal Anthony Ryan said a new Australian curriculum had also been approved by the federal government so educators would spend the next financial year, and beyond, incorporating that new curriculum into their schools.

He said his school population was currently about 1000 children and the school was working on a facilities master plan to get some new buildings out of the flood zone.

It was also investigating further digital technologies for their classrooms.

Along with the state government budget, it is also often people power that helps fund school projects.

Coolum Beach State School P and C president Shane Urban said he was still proud of the work the organisation did for the school over the past decade, and continues to do.

He said one of the best moves by the P and C was to install a full-time staff member at the school.

“For that very reason there’s not a huge onus of work hours needed by our volunteers,” he said.

A lot of growth has occurred in Sunshine Coast and Noosa schools over the past decade.

The Sunshine Coast Daily has compiled a series of aerial shots to compare the growth at several schools across the region.

Scroll to find your children’s school or maybe the school you attended.

The aerial imagery is from Australian location intelligence company Nearmap.

The company provides government organisations, architectural, construction and engineering firms, and other companies, with easy, instant access to high resolution aerial imagery, city-scale 3D content, artificial intelligence data sets, and geospatial tools to assist with urban planning, monitoring and development projects in Australia, New Zealand, and North America.

Originally published as Sunshine Coast schools: Aerial photos show decade of change to school campuses