THE principal of Point Cook’s only public secondary school says there are enough student places to last a decade, but warns of a shortage once a “bubble” in primary enrolments reaches year 10.
With Point Cook welcoming 18,250 residents since 2006, the state government’s failure to plan for new schools running beyond year 9 has baffled parents and Wyndham Council.
Point Cook Senior and Emmanuel College’s Notre Dame campus are the only schools in the suburb offering years 10-12 education.
Point Cook Senior principal Greg Sperling said the school had 650 pupils this year, well below its ceiling of 1100 students. Forecasts of about 250 students a year from feeder schools meant demand for high school places would not outstrip supply for at least six years.
“The big increase is around the grade 3 level, where it creeps to about 320 from Point Cook P-9 and Carranballac,” he said.
“What’s really scary is looking at the prep enrolments … in 10 years time, capacity will be sorely tested.”
Mr Sperling said enrolments at a new school to be built at Alamanda and students coming from outside Point Cook could add pressure on the secondary school.
“We have got an enormous block of land so there is always room to expand, and there is space for relocatable classrooms.”
A new $8.9million trades training centre at Point Cook Senior will go out to tender at the end of the year, which could accommodate at least three classes of technology subjects by 2014.
Loren Bartley, whose children attend Point Cook P-9, said the government’s failure to plan for another secondary school was short-sighted.
