The final catchment area for the new Inner City North State Secondary College (ICNSSC) in Fortitude Valley has been released on 30 April 2019.
“After consulting with the local community late last year, the Department of Education has finalised the catchment for the new state high school, providing much-anticipated certainty for local families,” Ms Grace said.
Since 2011, inner-city children population has increased by about 30 percent, according to the Queensland Government Statistician’s Office (QGSO). This is expected to further increase by 3,000 over the next five years due to migration.
Once construction is completed, the state-of-the-art ICNSSC, located at St Pauls Terrace and Brookes Street in Fortitude Valley, is set to bring relief to the overcrowded inner-city schools.
Video Credit: Queensland Department of Education / YouTube
The new catchment for ICNSSC comes with a few changes from the proposed catchment map released in November 2018. The changes resulted in a slight increase to the northeastern boundary and slight reduction to the northwestern, thereby altering eligibility zones for Kelvin Grove State College, Kedron SHS, and Aviation High.
The alterations were necessary modifications in order to avoid splitting the streets between catchments as well as to follow main roads and natural landmarks.
The new ICNSSC will open in 2020 to year 7 students, growing each year to 2025 when it is expected to accommodate 1,500 students in Years 7-12.
“It’s fantastic to achieve this milestone, which will allow us to open enrolments for the first cohort of Year 7 students, so they are ready to start school in Term 1, 2020.
“The feedback from the local community highlighted that the local inner northern Brisbane communities are very excited to be a part of this future-focused secondary college.”
(Department of Education) 2019 / yoursay.buildingfutureschools.advancingeducation.qld.gov.au
During the consultation period, the Department of Education received more than 250 preliminary expressions of interest for enrolments, according to ICNSSC Principal Sharon Barker.
“Now that the catchment has been finalised, all eligible families, including those that submitted a preliminary expression of interest, are now encouraged to apply to enrol at our school,” Ms Barker said.
The new ICNSSC, the first in Brisbane in more than 50 years and the first vertical high school in Qld, is part of the government’s $808 million Building Future Schools Fund and will be delivered in conjunction with the Queensland University of Technology.
The construction of the new school is well underway, Minister Grace said, particularly the Brookes Street precinct and junior learning building which will open for Year 7 in Term 1 of 2020.