High school for Brighton a win for local kids

RONDA COCKSHUTT: Students won’t have to travel out of the area any more

BRIGHT FUTURE: The best facility and curriculum will have a profound influence on educational success of children.

I WOULD like to commend Education Minister Jeremy Rockliff on confirming what he had promised and now committed to the Brighton municipality.

A new Brighton High School of excellence to deliver the best educational outcome for our students, and also keeping our Jordan River Learning Federation School Farm as is where is.

Our municipality is going to be quite unique.

We will have two high schools, a redeveloped educational school farm and a trade training centre all within 10km or 10 minutes of each other.

Students will not have to travel out of area any more for their education.

Minister Rockliff is strongly committed to ensuring the new Brighton High School has the best educational curriculum and facilities that the community needs and deserves for our students.

This community does not want to see another disgraceful fiasco replicated like the replacement rebuild of the old Bridgewater High School after an arson attack.

We were told it would be a state-of-the-art high school to serve our five municipal public primary schools.

That is why the Jordan River Learning Federation School name was chosen (a federation is defined in law as two or more maintained schools operating under the governance of a single governing body).

Unfortunately one primary school was able to be excluded.

Many parents of the four remaining primary schools were in uproar when they were told their primary schools would only be going to grade 4 and grades 5 and 6 would become part of the middle school.

Suffice to say that was the biggest blunder made when planning the school rebuild.

It was not successful and the primary schools reverted to including grades 5 and 6.

A few years ago, after huge social media uproar over Brighton Council wanting the school farm moved, Minister Rockliff stepped in and committed the farm would be staying as is where is.

The council accepted his decision, subsequently rezoning the school farm land ensuring it was safe.

Unfortunately, last year the council announced the school farm as their preferred choice for the new high school site.

I was shown a plan the council had drawn up of what they envisaged the farm site high school would look like, even though it was not up for consideration.

It was great to see the Mayor acknowledging the council had finally welcomed Minister Rockliff’s decision (Mercury, March 2).

Where the new Brighton High School was going to be built was never going to have any influence on the educational success of our students.

What will have a profound influence will be making sure the best achievable or imaginable facility and curriculum is chosen, resulting in all students being in a happy environment in a school they are proud to represent.

Let us all put the past 12 to 18 months behind us and look forward to what we have been given by Minister Rockliff.

Ronda Cockshutt was a spokesperson for Keep Bridgewater High on its Original Site committee after Bridgewater High School burned down in 2007. She was made a life member of Friends of the Farm at the Jordan River School Farm in 2018.