FIRST PEEK AT YASS HIGH SCHOOL’S NEW HALL

Basic plans of Yass High School’s new hall have just been released by the NSW Government today.

Member for Goulburn Wendy Tuckerman welcomed the progress on the project and said she was excited to share the first images of the hall with the community.

“I’m proud that the NSW Government is delivering the new hall at Yass High School. It will benefit the school and the local community for years to come,” Ms Tuckerman said.

The Yass High School Hall wall to wall with students in previous years’ assemblies.

Following election promises in 2019 to fund a new school and community hall, local residents are expecting to have unprecedented access to the site after school hours with a recognised community need for space for sport & recreational activities such as basketball, gymnastics, martial arts and dance while the high school itself is unable to currently host an onsite all-school event in the current hall of its student body or invite parents and community without severely restricting attendance.

Yass High School’s Principal Linda Langton confirmed the High School’s student body is growing with some families pulling back this year from Canberra public and private schools to enrol at Yass High School.

“We’re projecting between 580 and 590 students for next year so by 2022 we will be over the 600 mark,” Mrs Langton said.

According to a previous Master Plan analysis, the Department of Education is failing to meet the Secondary School’s Facility Standard (SSFS) at Yass High School. Growth at local primary feeder schools and the anticipated addition by 2023 of Murrumbateman Primary School as another feeder school, is expected to place additional pressure on the need for expanded infrastructure at the secondary level with Yass High School the only high school in Yass Valley which has a population of more than 17,000.

The coalition government also funded a new STEM (science, engineering and technology) building at Yass High School which was officially opened earlier in the year.

The new Yass High School hall is part of a program estimated at more than $50 million to deliver new and upgraded halls at 10 schools across the state.

Education Minister Sarah Mitchell said she was pleased the halls program will benefit more than 6,000 NSW public school students.

“I’m delighted to see the new designs for the hall projects as this is a really important program for our schools,” Ms Mitchell said.

“School halls are the natural gathering point for students and staff, and they can also be a vital part of a thriving local community.”

The new and upgraded halls will be custom designed to suit each school’s needs and depending on the school, they will include features such as dedicated performing arts spaces, sports courts, canteen and storage facilities, out of school hours care facilities and covered outdoor learning areas.

Current planning for halls includes developing a master plan and concept design, which will be shared with the local communities as the project progresses.