Construction will begin next year on a new eight-storey high school in Macquarie Park in Sydney’s north, designs for which were released by the NSW Government recently.

Designed to accommodate over 2,000 students, the proposed high school, located at Lachlan's Line, will include indoor and outdoor sports courts and play spaces; general and specialist classrooms; a multipurpose hall; and a canteen and administration facilities among others.

The school is located on a site, earlier earmarked by the previous Coalition government as a mixed-use development incorporating residential and commercial buildings in collaboration with private developers, and integrated with primary and high schools to maximise land use.

However, with Macquarie Park being identified as one of eight accelerated precincts by the Minns Labor government under the Transport Oriented Development (TOD) policy due to its close proximity to metro stations and key public transport interchanges, the rezoning, which came into effect in November 2024, created capacity for 2,000 more homes near the metro station, along with more flexible planning controls for key sites to encourage faster development.

To meet the evolving education needs of the growing residential population following the upzoning, a new primary school is currently under construction in Midtown Macquarie Park to accommodate approximately 750 students, with delivery expected in 2026 and opening scheduled for Term 1 in 2027.

The new high school in Lachlan’s Line will have full use of the site, and will feature a vertical design. Construction is expected to start in 2026 with completion scheduled for 2028. Detailed designs will be shared with the local community in the coming months.

By building two new schools, the Government is ensuring families in the growing area have access to a “world class public education”. Additionally, the local community will have access to the new high school’s indoor and outdoor sports courts, playground and hall outside school hours.

Aside from the Macquarie Park high school, the Government will be delivering a number of major projects in the surrounding areas, including a major upgrade for Ryde Secondary College, a new community sports facility on the former Marsden High School site, a new high school for Melrose Park, a major upgrade of Melrose Park Public School, and conversion of the former Meadowbank Public School into a new public open space. These projects will be supported by the $9 billion education funding provisioned in the 2025-26 Budget by the government to rebuild public education.

“I am pleased to announce that the NSW Government will deliver a standalone, state-of-the-art public high school for 2,000 students in Macquarie Park,” says Acting Minister for Education and Early Learning Courtney Houssos.

“This community has waited far too long for a new, desperately needed high school but now, under the current NSW Government, we can now give families certainty – this school will be built, with construction to start next year.”

Image source: https://www.schoolinfrastructure.nsw.gov.au

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