Perth public schools in newly developed residential areas have seen the highest rate of student enrolment growth and transportable classrooms have been called in to cater for the demand.
New schools in Baldivis, Brabham and Piara Waters have seen the biggest growth over the past five years, according to enrolment figures from the Department of Education.
In particular, Brabham Primary School, Aspiri Primary School and Ridge View Secondary College are dealing with a sharp spike in demand.
Ridge View opened in 2019 with just 175 full-time students enrolled. That has since jumped to 872. Aspiri Primary School is similar, opening in 2018 with 150 students and now catering for 825.
Brabham Primary School opened in 2021 and immediately took in 638 full-time students. It is now pushing 1000.
In other areas, new schools were opened in 2023 to relieve the pressure on existing schools at capacity.
Piara Waters Senior High School was opened to provide enrolment relief to Harrisdale Senior High School. In 2017, it had just 213 students compared to the current 2062.
Madora Bay Primary School was also opened to provide relief to nearby Oakwood Primary School, which has seen a 560 per cent increase in enrolments.
Infrastructure relief is also on the cards to increase student capacity at Mount Lawley Senior High School, which WAtoday previously revealed was struggling with significant enrolment pressures.
The construction of a new two-storey classroom block providing additional classroom accommodation for 500 students is due to be completed in 2024.
The education department’s infrastructure executive director Rob Thomson said when schools came under student enrolment pressure, a number of strategies to provide relief were considered.
“This includes ensuring schools enrol strictly from students that live within the school’s gazetted local-intake area,” he said.
“Changes to local intake areas occur when new public schools are opened, such as those that occurred to some secondary schools following the establishment of Bob Hawke College.
“In addition the department can adjust local intake areas of existing schools to help manage student enrolments.”
In the past five years, this has included adjusting intake areas between Victoria Park Primary School and East Victoria Park Primary School in 2018, and Guildford Primary School and Woodbridge Primary School in 2020.
A new local intake area was also established for Lathlain Primary School, but no new changes to local intake areas for secondary schools are being considered.
Thomson said changes to local intake areas of existing schools included a clause to protect the enrolment entitlement of students living in areas subject to change.
Another significant – albeit short-term – strategy for growing numbers was the use of transportable classrooms, with 2715 sitting at schools across the state as of March 21.
Thompson said the department had seen a slight increase in transportable classroom requirements over recent years.
Harrisdale Primary School currently houses the most transportable classrooms, with 29. Aubin Grove Primary School is close behind, with 27 transportable classrooms.
Curtin University School of Education professor Saul Karnovsky said planning for student growth was complicated, given WA’s population was highly reliant on the economy.
But he said families were moving further north and south, often for more affordable homes close to the coast.
“This is where many new developments have been focused,” he said.
“Schools, particularly those close to these development areas, need to be able to forecast future numbers and the best way to do that is to work in closer proximity to state planning agencies to find out more about what their catchment areas could look like in one, three or five years’ time.”
He said this would be a good way to estimate how many new students might be coming through the doors and when, rather than relying too heavily on transportable classrooms that often take up recreation space at schools.
“Future proofing schools this way would be hugely beneficial for teachers as well, as presently schools are desperate for staff,” he said.
“We need to look at making conditions for teachers better so we can attract more people to the profession. Having teachers juggling more students in these fast-growing schools is, much like the demountables, not sustainable long-term.”
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