Surf Coast Times
Tuesday 1 March 2011
VOL 9. No 9
www.surfcoasttimes.com.au
FREE WEEKLY
Martin Dixon was met by placard-waving children and parents during last week’s visit.
GREAT DIVIDE BY NATHAN HALE
Martin Dixon explains his stance on the education issue as Andrew Katos looks on. Photos: MICHAEL CHAMBERS
Surf Forecast
THE EDUCATION debacle concerning Torquay College has taken another twist with the state government set to split the school in two next year. From the start of the 2012 school year, the college will have a standalone primary school and a standalone secondary school – with both remaining on the current Grossmans Road site. The new direction is a makeshift move until the standalone secondary school is built and ready for use in 2013. Although no site has been agreed to, it appears certain the secondary school will be built in the Community and Civic Precinct in Torquay north, where sporting ovals and facilities will be shared by the school and community. The splitting of the school will include the appointment this year of a new principal for the secondary school, while Pam Kinsman will remain in charge of the primary school. The secondary school will run as a separate entity and, as such, will have its own administration and management – including a
new school council. Although the logistics of the split have yet to be confirmed, it is certain that the college will lose more of its green spaces as temporary buildings to accommodate Year 10 students will be moved in. Education Minister, Martin Dixon, informed the school of the decision last Friday as he stood firm on the Coalition’s pre-election promise of building a standalone secondary school while returning the current Torquay College to primary school only. Dixon also confirmed that the government had no intention of fast-tracking the building of a second primary school in Torquay. “We will continue with the same plan – it is the plan we have had on the table since 2006,” Dixon said. “The current Year 9 students will stay on site next year as Year 10s in portable classrooms for one year. The new (standalone secondary) school will be ready for the start of 2013, accommodating Years 7 to 11; then in 2014 we will add Year 12. “We recognise there is the need for a further primary school and we also are aware there is the need for more kindergarten space.”
Despite assurances the new secondary school will be ready for 2013, Torquay College school council president, Sean O’Brien, labelled the timeline “ambitious” and called for a comprehensive contingency plan. O’Brien also said the plan to add portable buildings next year to accommodate the split was reducing available green space, forcing students to play on concrete. He sited a rise in the number of hard-surface injuries as a growing concern. Shadow Minister for Education, Rob Hulls, accused the government of being stubborn and failing to listen the needs of the community. “The education of young kids shouldn’t be a political football,” he said. “It’s very important that the government listens to the local community and makes an absolute commitment to another primary school in Torquay. “Everyone knows the best outcome now would be to make the current college into P-12 and build another primary school, but because that was a Labor plan, this government is turning its back on it… and on the community.”
WED 3-4ft building W/SW 19° THU 3-5ft+ building SW 18° FRI 3-5ft inconsistent S/SW 17° SAT 2-3ft easing E 19°
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