Stage 2 of the expansion of Fortitude Valley State Secondary College has been completed, adding classrooms and a new sports centre to Queensland’s first-ever vertical school.
The completed second stage of the $143 million investment that will deliver inner Brisbane’s first secondary school in more than 50 years has recently been unveiled at a ceremony held on 18 November 2022.
This expansion has supported more than 300 secure jobs for Queenslanders.
Stage 2 cost $43 million to build and adds a state-of-the-art senior learning precinct to the school for the first cohort of Year 10 students next year.
“Fortitude Valley State Secondary College represents a $143 million Palaszczuk Government investment in the local community that has supported good jobs and provided better services in the inner city,” Education Minister and local Member for McConnel Grace Grace said.
Stage 2 features 13 classrooms for use by students in Years 10 to 12 plus a Sports Centre. The learning spaces are air-conditioned and include two industrial technology labs, two industry-standard kitchens, three senior science labs, one textiles studio, two visual arts studios and three breakout spaces for independent and group learning.
“These classrooms have been built above an enclosed sports facility with two multi-purpose courts,” Minister Grace adds.
Vertical schools are a recent phenomenon in Australian state education. High land prices and a scarcity of suitable sites make vertical schools an economic alternative to our longstanding cultural preference for low-rise schools.
New vertical schools, ranging in height from four to seventeen storeys, are now starting to be commissioned across all Australian mainland states. Peter Goss from the Grattan Institute wrote that Australia can anticipate an increase of around 650,000 students in the decade to 2026. This number would require the construction of seven new twenty-five-student classrooms every day for ten years.
“Vertical Schools on the Rise in Australian Cities” by Clare Newton
“Around 450 students in Years 7 to 9 are currently receiving a world-class education at Fortitude Valley State Secondary College, and the school will continue to add a year level every year until the first Year 12 cohort starts in 2025.
“Fortitude Valley State Secondary College is one of 21 new schools the Palaszczuk Government has opened since 2015, and we’ll open another four next year.”
The State Government continues to invest in building, upgrading and expanding schools under its 2022-23 budget with almost $2 billion allocated to education infrastructure investment supporting almost 4,200 jobs for Queenslanders.
