Bob Hawke College, Perth's new inner-city public school, prepares to welcome first students
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The first look at Perth's newest secondary school, Bob Hawke College, has revealed a state-of-the art facility with a 150-seat lecture theatre, modern library and huge multi-purpose indoor sports hall.
Key points:
- The school is aimed at easing population pressures on Perth's western suburbs
- It is expected to cater to 2,000 students by 2025, years seven to 12
- The school is built on the old Subiaco Oval site and will officially open next week
The college, in inner-city Subiaco, will open its doors next week to its first cohort of about 260 Year 7 students.
The school will eventually cater for 2,000 students from Year 7 to Year 12 by 2025.
Only the first stage of the $70 million campus in Subiaco is complete, with stage two to be built over the next few years.
From term 2 of the school year, students will have access to the adjacent Subiaco Oval, the former home of football in WA.
The oval is currently a construction site following the demolition of the facility's grandstands and the removal of its foundations.
The oval's heritage gates and some bleachers in front of the former coaches boxes have been retained.
The playing field will be resurfaced and restored to AFL size.
Education Minister Sue Ellery said the oval would be used by Bob Hawke College students during school hours, with access at other times to be provided to the WA Football Commission and community sporting groups.
Bob Hawke College principal John Burke said he was excited about shaping a culture of "innovation and reflection" at the school.
"Our motto is "Extraordinary Together" — extraordinary as in the best version of staff, kids and the community," he said.
"We're looking at making sure that we become, hopefully, a factory for excellence in teaching and learning in public schooling in WA."
There are 32 students enrolled in the school's academic Gifted and Talented Program, and all pupils will have access to the school's specialist design and technology facilities, along with its science and IT laboratories.
Inner-city school crowding to ease: Minister
Ms Ellery said Bob Hawke College would take some pressure off the growing secondary school populations at Churchlands, Mount Lawley and Shenton College.
She said despite strong projected enrolment figures, she was confident Bob Hawke College would not be dealing with capacity issues in its first few years.
"Government is always planning ahead for new schools, primary and secondary, and we'll take that into account in our planning," she said.
Ms Ellery said the Government had "no plans" to either reopen or sell a vacant high school site at City Beach, about 7 kilometres from Subiaco.
City Beach was closed by the former Gallop government in 2005 and remains zoned for education purposes, with a residential facility on the site used by regional students who attend Perth Modern School and the new Bob Hawke College.
Locals have speculated that the site may be sold off for development.
"There are no plans to do anything different with the City Beach site," Ms Ellery said.
"The growth in the western suburbs is on the city side.
"In fact on the coastal side of the western suburbs, particularly around that City Beach site, population is going backwards.
"It's not growing in terms of students who would be eligible to attend high school, so that's not a pressure point in that area."
Topics: education, access-to-education, schools, secondary-schools, public-schools, subiaco-6008, perth-6000, wa
