Flexible Learning Space

According to the Greater Sydney Commission, schools will be forced to develop “innovative ways” to cater for thousands of new students on the north shore as the State Government plans for a major overhaul of existing buildings. The Greater Sydney Commission last week released its finalised North District Plan, a 20-year road map to cope with population increases on the North Shore.

It is estimated that an extra 21,900 students will need to be accommodated in public and private schools in the North District by 2036. However, the report did not reveal how many extra schools would be required to meet this demand but it “encourages the joint and shared use of school facilities” with councils and the private sector to “develop innovative ways to provide school infrastructure” such as becoming ‘community hubs’. There is also the likelihood of the use of ‘flexible learning spaces’ where large groups of students use technology to learn under the supervision of teachers (but with higher student to teacher ratios).

The North District Plan is part of a broader 40-year vision for Greater Sydney, where most residents would live within 30 minutes of their jobs, education and health facilities.

Anticipating the growth in student numbers across Willoughby, the Chatswood West Ward Progress Association and the Federation of Willoughby Progress Association have been advocating for the establishment of an innovative school on the current ‘Dive Site’ of the Sydney Metro South at the corner of Mowbray Rd and the Pacific Highway when the Metro is completed.

Source: Matt Taylor, Schools under pressure in population boom. Calls for high-rise campuses as plan forecasts drastic rise in lower north shore population, North Shore Times, Friday 5 April 2018, p.4