Campus renovations rollout revised

Above: Music students outside Dalkeith House.

With changing costs and expenses in the construction world, CBC Fremantle has remained resilient and flexible with planned campus improvements, including several changes to the building schedule.

The Year 7 classrooms upgrade is complete, and the refurbishments of the ground floor of the same building, including the Art studio, are well underway. The Year 7 courtyard will also reflect the refreshing change, with an exciting facelift that will brighten up the area and provide our boys with a practical and inspirational space to spend their breaks.

College Principal, Mr Domenic Burgio, assured the community that the timeline of the renovation plans may be shuffled, but the priority to provide excellent facilities and a versatile and practical 21st century learning environment for current and future students remains the same.

“We are an old school, much loved and appreciated, and some of our buildings are looking a little tired,” Mr Burgio said. “The refurb will be more of a reflection of the exceptional learning that is already taking place in our classrooms. But as I always say, ‘you can’t have a relationship with a building’, and the traditions, love and care of an education at CBC Fremantle remain exactly the same.”

Year 7 classroom.

The increase in the costs of building material has paused the plans for the High Street Arts precinct, and instead the renovation of the Science labs and the block of classrooms located on the north-western corner of the campus known as the Marshall Wing are now the priority. This restructure paves the way for other improvements that will make life a little easier for our families, including the potential for online Canteen and uniform shop orders.

Our Arts department is loving its new premises in the building next to the College on High Street, and the Music department is moving to Dalkeith House, which the College is leasing to provide a fitting space for the peripatetic teachers and smaller ensemble practise rooms. This beautiful building is located on the corner of Parry and High Streets, and was built in 1897, only 13 years after the College’s original school hall. Access along the land owned by the College between the gymnasium and new Art and Music premises allows for safe pedestrian walkway, and interim plans for the vacant blocks are in progress.

Further improvements to the Arts Learning Area, Technology and Design and the Library are on the cards in the near future, with all renovations due to be completed by 2025.

In the Arts House.