The NSW Government is continuing work to ensure all students have access to quality, free education, close to their homes, with a new high school for Gregory Hills and Gledswood Hills to be fast tracked.
Public school students in parts of Sydney's rapidly-growing South-West will be able to attend a new local high school from the start of next year, as the NSW Government plans to use existing temporary school facilities to fast-track the opening of the new high school by 2 years.
In a win for local families who have waited years for local school infrastructure to catch up with the exploding population, enrolments are now open for current year 6 students to attend the new high school for Gregory Hills and Gledswood Hills, from Day 1, Term 1, 2025.
The new high school will initially open in temporary facilities currently being used for Gregory Hills Public School students, who will vacate it by the end of this year. The new permanent primary school, which is located on the same site as the temporary school, is in the final stages of construction.
A site for the permanent new high school, catering for students from Gregory Hills and Gledswood Hills, was announced late last year and the acquisition is currently underway.
The announcement comes as Gledswood Hills Public School students returned to their school for the first day of Term 2 today with brand new facilities, following a major upgrade that has nearly doubled the number of classrooms, increasing student capacity from 575 to 1012 and enabling the removal of demountables from the school playground.
Camden is a rapidly growing part of Sydney's outer South-West, with the population in the local government area skyrocketing from 78,218 in 2016 to 119,325 in 2021.
In addition to the new and upgraded schools in Gledswood Hills and Gregory Hills, the NSW Government is addressing the school infrastructure backlog in South-West Sydney with new public high schools announced in Leppington and Edmondson Park, and major upgrades at Leppington Public School, Austral Public School, Greenway Park Public School, and Dalmeny Public School.
This is part of the NSW Government $8.8 billion investment in new and upgraded schools, and follows the NSW Government's enrolment audit which identified Gledswood Hills, Gregory Hills and 3 other South-West areas, within the state's top 10 student growth areas of the past 5 years.
Deputy Premier and Minister for Education and Early Learning, Prue Car said:
"This is a double dose of good news for the communities of Gledswood Hills and Gregory Hills - a larger public school and a local place for their children to begin high school next year.
"Every child in NSW deserves access to a world-class public education, so I am thrilled that these new classrooms have now been delivered for the students of Gledswood Hills Public School, with demountables to now be removed from their playground.
"The Liberals and the Nationals left the families of Gledswood Hills and Gregory Hills without a local high school, and I am delighted to say the Minns Labor Government is fast-tracking the opening to meet the needs of local families.
"Camden is experiencing some of the most rapid population growth in Australia, and as Minister for Western Sydney I know how vital it is that we deliver schools for these communities."
Member for Camden Sally Quinnell said:
"I am thrilled to see the progress that has been made to deliver much-needed school facilities for our growing community.
"It is wonderful to be here for the first day of Term 2 to see students in their new classrooms.
"The work we are doing here, for both primary school and high school students, is essential to the learning needs of our students today and into the future."
