Nikki Kaye
At least $8.7 million will be invested in the redevelopment of Newmarket School in Auckland, a project that will involve building the first ever four-storey block in an Auckland state school.
Like many schools in Auckland, Newmarket School needs more classrooms to accommodate a growing roll.
This project will see the school provided with eleven extra teaching spaces. The school’s existing hall and administration facilities will also be replaced.
The extra classrooms and replacement facilities will all be housed in the new block.
By building up to four storeys, the best use will be made of the school’s small, sloping site, which has an area of just over one hectare.
This solution will enable the school to meet roll growth, and also preserve valuable space for outdoor recreation.
Impressive growth
The roll at Newmarket School is expected to grow from around 280 by the end of this year, to over 450 students by 2020.
This redevelopment is about the Government getting ahead of the game in an area where the population is increasing, and modernising facilities to provide an innovative learning environment.
The additional teaching spaces will take the total number of classrooms at the school to 21. A new space will also be created for resource teachers, who support students from surrounding schools with difficulties in areas such as literacy.
Whilst Newmarket School is in the Epsom electorate, it’s part of the Auckland Central Community of Learning cluster, and plays a key role not just within its own boundaries but within the local school network that it’s part of.
Pre-Tender Stage
The project is currently at the pre-tender stage, with a contractor expected to be appointed by the end of September. Construction is expected to commence in late 2016, with the new facilities up and running for Term One in 2018.
This is an exciting project which is part of extensive work underway across Auckland to upgrade and expand the capacity of the city’s schools.
This year’s Budget set aside $882.5 million for school infrastructure. Around $153 million of that will be invested in school property in greater Auckland, and this comes on top of nearly a quarter of a billion dollars invested by the Government over the past two years to upgrade and grow Auckland schools.
In total, this Government has committed around $5 billion to school property, significantly more than any previous government.”
About Newmarket School
Newmarket School is a contributing primary school (year 1 – 6) in Auckland.
Unlike traditional classrooms, where teachers addressed students from the front of the class, today’s teachers work more collaboratively with each other and students, in small and large groups and individually according to students’ learning needs.
When new schools are built or existing schools upgraded, this is an opportunity to create comfortable, well-connected and flexible learning spaces that support the creation of an innovative learning environment.
These spaces can be changed to support a range of teaching and learning approaches on any given day, and are also able to adapt to broader changes as education practices evolve over time. Acoustics, lighting, technology, heating and air quality are of a high standard to help students concentrate on learning.
Nikki Kaye is Associate Education Minister of New Zealand.
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