A new high school in Taylor; another secondary college; and 600 more students at the Margaret Hendry School will be funded under the ACT Budget as part of the government’s plan for new public schools for the growing region of Gungahlin.

“More and more families are choosing public schools for their children’s education in the ACT, and nowhere is that growth in our system more prevalent than in Gungahlin,” Yvette Berry, Minister for Education and Youth Affairs, said.

The new high school in Taylor, due to open in 2024, will cater for 800 students. It will offer general and specialist learning areas, small group programs, a library, and an interactive learning centre. Sport and recreation spaces for students and the community will include a double gymnasium/hall, performing arts spaces, and hardcourts.

The Margaret Hendry School expansion is already underway. New learning spaces, due for completion in time for the 2023 school year, will feature general learning settings, specialist learning settings including food technology, Science Technology Engineering Art and Maths (STEAM), and small group programs.

“The expansion of Margaret Hendry School and the construction of a new high school in Taylor are a key part of our plans to ensure that every family that wants to attend a high-quality public school can do so in their local area,” Ms Berry said.

The government will also start the master planning and preliminary design for a second college for Gungahlin.

“This is an issue that is of interest to residents in Gungahlin, and the first steps towards the delivery of a second college for Gungahlin are now underway,” Ms Berry said.

The construction and upgrades to schools in Gungahlin are part of the ACT Government’s infrastructure pipeline, which the government said would contribute to its goal of 250,000 local jobs by 2025.

“We are undertaking the most ambitious school infrastructure program in the history of self government,” Chief Minister Andrew Barr said. “We are building new and expanded schools in growing communities, and renewing the schools that Canberrans know and love right across the city.”