The South Australian Commission for Catholic Schools and Catholic Education South Australia (CESA) will complete 27 capital development school projects in 2021.
A further 17 projects are underway and set for completion in 2022 and beyond. Several other projects are due to start next year.
Led by CESA’s Infrastructure, Planning and Development department, the works are part of CESA’s commitment to providing state-of-the-art facilities to meet the requirements of today’s teaching and learning.
Central to the multi-million dollar projects is the provision of modern facilities both inside and outside of the classroom, creating enhanced learning opportunities for students and teachers. The developments mean there are even greater pathways for Catholic education across South Australia and will help to meet the growing demand for enrolments.
Two of the projects are brand new schools, including St Francis of Assisi College, Renmark, which is a new secondary college for the Riverland region. Stage 1, which was completed this year, comprises Year 7 to 9 learning buildings, some specialist facilities, administration and landscaping. Two further stages are planned over the next three to five years.
Compass Catholic Community is a new, fee-free school being built at Davoren Park that will cater for young people aged 17 to 24.
CESA’s Infrastructure, Planning and Development manager Paul Angley said it had been a busy and exciting period for his team.
“I would like to recognise the great work of my team. They have been exceptional this year – with double the value of projects being undertaken in 2021 compared to previous years.”
Paul also acknowledged the companies working with them on the projects.
“Over several years, CESA has developed excellent relationships with a core group of leading specialist builders and architect firms,” said Paul.
“These strong relationships have allowed us to work quickly and achieve very tight timelines and still produce high quality facilities.
“It has also been pleasing to see some of our projects receive State and national awards for their architectural design and integration into the natural environment.”
At this year’s SA Architecture Awards three Catholic school projects were recognised. Awards were presented to McAuley Community School, Hove, for its whole school design (Swanbury Penglase architects), to Loreto College, Marraytville, for the upgrade to its Breda Byrne Wing (MPH Architects) and Blackfriars Priory School, Prospect, which opened its new Aquinas Centre (Swanbury Penglase). Last month, architects Brown Falconer were winners at the Learning Environments Australasia SA and NT Awards for their design of the Early Learning to Year 6 facilities redevelopment at St Francis de Sales College, Mount Barker.
Some of the other major projects completed or in progress during 2021 were:
Other schools where projects will be completed in 2021 or early 2022 include:
The achievements of students with disability in their final year of school have been celebrated at the 2021 Barkuma Transition Program Graduation Ceremony.
The event is the culmination of Barkuma's 12 month program designed to assist final year students with disability and learning difficulties to make the smooth transition from school to future pathways.
The majority of students enrolled in the Program attend Catholic schools.
