The ACT Council of Parents and Citizens Associations, the peak body for public school parent groups, has welcomed the announcement by the ACT Government this morning of further investment to grow Gungahlin schools, including a second college for the region.
“The population of Gungahlin continues to grow and we are pleased to see the ACT Government investing in additional schools,” says Council President, Alison Elliott.
“A second College in Gungahlin is absolutely essential,” she says. “Parents have been calling for this for years. The need is now urgent. It can’t happen soon enough for local families.”
“We hope the planning of the new college will include consultation with Gungahlin families. We already know that there is a strong preference that a new college is a stand-alone institution, not an expansion of a high school. ACT colleges are fundamentally a different experience to high school. Families appreciate this and want to maintain it.”
Parents at Gungahin’s existing college agree today’s announcement is welcome news but, with no opening date for a new college, are concerned that it may come too late.
“The college is already at full capacity and is predicted to keep growing,” explains Rachel Armstrong, P&C President at Gungahlin College. “Staff have been amazing in exercising all possible flexibility and creativity in dealing with this, but we don’t see how it can be pushed further.”
“The ACT Government has known about our enrolment pressures for years, so we are disappointed to hear that planning is only just starting for a second college.”
“Parents are concerned about the quality of teaching and learning that will be possible for college students while we wait for this one to open,” she says.
