Relocation of Catholic College Sale years seven and eight students from Sion to St Patricks campus has taken a major step forward with Expressions of Interest (EoI) open to builders.
Commercial builders have been invited to lodge an Expression of Interest for the refurbishment of the John 23rd building and construction of the new Marcellin space.
The Nationals Member for Gippsland Darren Chester secured $1 million from the Federal Government, boosted by $5 million from Catholic College Sale, to redevelop the John 23rd building and provide access to the latest teaching resources.
The building will house years seven and eight students when they move from Sion to the St Patrick’s campus at the end of 2020.
Mr Chester said the EoI process was a significant step forward and encouraged the school to consider the use of local tradesmen wherever possible.
“The redevelopment will provide new classrooms, filming and communications resources, wet areas for scientific experiments and large gathering spaces designed to provide local students with the best possible opportunities,” Mr Chester said.
“We’re fortunate across Gippsland to have some wonderful teaching staff, and access to the latest technologies and resources helps to achieve better results.”
Mr Chester said the funding was being provided through the Capital Grants Program, which funds new facilities in schools that may not have the capacity to fully self-fund.
Catholic College Sale Principal Chris Randell said the school was undertaking a major refurbishment that would serve the community well for many years to come.
“We’ve been staging the works to minimise disruption as much as possible and we are now nearing completion of the St Patrick’s refurbishment and new VCE Centre and Library,” Mr Randell said.
“Once we are able to move our year 11 and 12 students out of the John 23rd building into their new area, we will be able to commence the rebuild of John 23rd in preparation for years seven and eight students moving in from the end of 2020.
“The move to one campus, and the educational benefit that will come from those efficiencies, means we can provide our students with access to the best possible learning environment and give our students every advantage.”
