Construction of Brisbane’s first vertical state school — the first to be constructed in the inner-city in over 50 years—is now underway.
In a sod-turning ceremony held 13 November, Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk and education minister Grace Grace officially marked the commencement of the construction of the Inner City North State Secondary College. The school’s site is located between St Pauls Terrace and Brookes Street in Fortitude Valley.
Once completed, the Inner City North State Secondary College will be inner-north’s educational facility for Years 7-12, servicing communities in and around Fortitude Valley, Newstead, Bowen Hills and New Farm. The new school will also ease enrollment pressure on Kelvin Grove State College.
The new school, designed by Cox Architecture, is set to be the first inner-Brisbane state high school to be built in over 50 years, adopting a vertical design rising up to seven storeys. The school will also feature a roof terrace and each floor will contain a mix of traditional classrooms and flexible learning environments.
“Each level is programmed with a mix of general and specialist learning spaces around a naturally ventilated atrium providing students and staff with a high level of connectivity to nature and the external environment,” Christina Cho, Director-Cox Architecture said.
“The design takes cues from the Queenslander Vernacular with Outdoor learning terraces that wrap and activate the edges of the building, opening out towards the green space for engagement and passive observation.”
“We have retained and reused the existing school building within the new performing arts precinct. While not heritage listed, the building and site has a great historic significance as a place of education in Queensland. We believed it was important to embed historical roots for the new school,” Ms Cho said.
Photo Credit: Queensland Government/yoursay.buildingfutureschools.advancingeducation.qld.gov.au
Are You in the Catchment Area?
The proposed catchment area for the new school has already been released. Students currently enrolled Kelvin Grove State College now have the option to enroll in the new Inner City North State Secondary College, if their address is within the new schools’ catchment zone.
Interested families may use the interactive map to find out if their property is within the proposed catchment. Also, they may register their interest to enroll their child at this webpage.
The school is scheduled to open in 2020 to Year 7 students, growing each year to 2025 when it is projected to already accommodate about 1,500 Years 7-12 students.
Have Your Say
Since the “Inner City North State Secondary College” is only the working title for the project, the Department of Education will confirm the official name for the school after community consultation. Residents are encouraged to submit ideas for the name as well as values for the new school by 9 December.
