Two new public schools will be built at the Macquarie Park Education Campus being developed by the NSW Government in Sydney to meet the needs of a growing population. The new primary school and high school will be delivered as part of an integrated mixed use development in partnership with the private sector, and may include residential apartments, commercial and retail offerings in the same precinct.

The two schools with a combined capacity exceeding 3,000 students will be delivered as integrated vertical schools, according to School Infrastructure NSW (SINSW). Lachlan’s Line, which is located between Macquarie Park and North Ryde Metro stations in the City of Ryde, has been identified as the preferred site for the proposed education campus. The site is owned by Landcom, the NSW Government’s land and property development organisation.

“For the Macquarie Park Education Campus, we are proposing an integrated development, which would mean acquiring the Lachlan’s Line site from Landcom and partnering with the private sector to deliver the schools as part of a wider development. This may include mixed-use residential and commercial offerings, together with the new schools,” SINSW said.

SINSW explained that partnering with other government agencies and the private sector to plan and deliver schools as part of an integrated development could help reduce land costs and allow schools to be a shared community feature of newly established precincts.

The schools were originally planned for construction on the site of the old Peter Board High School, the school attended by former premier Gladys Berejiklian. In 2017, the NSW Government led by Berejiklian had announced an exclusivity agreement to buy back from private hands the old school site that was controversially closed, and subsequently sold, 20 years ago by the then Labor Government.

However, based on the studies undertaken by SINSW in the planning stage, Lachlan’s Line was selected as the preferred site for the education campus.

NSW Education and Early Learning Minister Sarah Mitchell said, "The Macquarie Park Education Campus will be a brand new multi-million dollar school for students from K-12.”

“We are looking at innovative ways of delivering much needed schools in high density urban areas, working with our partners across government, in local government and the private sector to ensure we deliver school infrastructure that keeps pace with residential growth and provides an opportunity for state-of-the-art shared use facilities.

"We will continue to consult with the community on this project and deliver an amazing school to benefit families and students for generations to come."

According to SINSW, the NSW Government is investing $8.6 billion in school infrastructure over the next four years, continuing its program to deliver 160 new and upgraded schools to support communities across NSW. This builds on the more than $9.1 billion invested in projects delivered since 2017, a program of $17.7 billion in public education infrastructure.

Planning is underway for the Macquarie Park Education Campus project, which involves analysing demographic trends and educational needs, due diligence studies, site investigations, design work, transport analysis, and exploring partnership opportunities for the campus.

Image: An artist's impression of the two new public schools at Macquarie Park Education Campus

Branko Miletic

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