McGowan Government upgrades to Collie SHS on track

  • $7.5 million election commitment to upgrade Collie Senior High School underway
  • School works are expected to be completed in August this year
  • Regional school upgrade increases capacity for an extra 130 students
  • Almost $100 million allocated in 2018-19 State Budget for regional school upgrades across Western Australia 
  • Premier Mark McGowan and Collie-Preston MLA Mick Murray today visited Collie Senior High School to view progress on the $7.5 million worth of upgrades to the school, which will enable it to cater for an extra 130 students.

    A key McGowan Government election commitment, students are already benefiting from the upgrades with the recent reconfiguration of a workshop into a first-class ICT and STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics) laboratory.

    Further upgrades, expected to be fully completed in August, will include refurbishments to existing classrooms, a brand new classroom block with eight classrooms, a commercial kitchen and café restaurant, and a food technology studio. The new build will replace the five transportable classrooms currently in place.

    Employing 60 people on the project, local South-West builders, Pindan Constructions, are delivering the main build, which is underpinned by the McGowan Government’s Buy Local policy – to increase local content, create jobs and boost the local economy.

    As noted by Premier Mark McGowan:

    “My Government is committed to investing in quality public school infrastructure to make sure all Western Australian students get the best possible education, regardless of where they live.

    “In the 2018-19 State Budget, we committed almost $100 million to upgrade regional schools across our State.

    “I’m pleased these major upgrades to Collie Senior High School will benefit current students and ensures students in years to come have access to quality, modern classrooms and school facilities.”

    As noted by Collie-Preston MLA Mick Murray:

    “Upgrading the facilities at Collie Senior High School was one of my key election commitments, and I’m pleased to see construction is underway.

    “It is personally pleasing for me to have secured these upgrades for the community after so many years of broken promises by those who came before us.

    “The new ICT and STEM centre will teach our kids the skills they need for the jobs of the future, while the commercial kitchen and food technology studio will help our kids with the life skills they need to succeed.”

    /Public Release. View in full here.