Mandurah's newest educational establishments, Coastal Lakes College and Oakwood Primary School, were officially opened by Education Minister Sue Ellery in two special ceremonies on Friday.
Students from Coastal Lakes College's (CLC) academic specialist classes joined the minister and distinguished guests for the opening of the new northern Mandurah high school.
Special representatives included Mandurah mayor Rhys Williams, Mandurah MP David Templeman and CLC principal Kya Graves.
We will be successful, we will not let the community down.
- Coastal Lakes College principal Kya Graves
Ms Ellery said the new school met the needs of the growing Mandurah community.
“The Lakelands community have been very involved in the planning stages for Coastal Lakes College, building relationships with community organisations and the local government to benefit students and their families," she said.
“The impressive modern facilities will provide a high-quality learning environment to support students in all areas of their education.”
Principal Kya Graves said she was already impressed with the students' commitment to learning and to the school.
"Becoming a hub of our community comes with a sense of purpose, but also there are expectations set for us," she said.
"The community has high aspirations for our school and everybody in it - staff, students and our families.
"We will be successful, we will not let the community down."
The college, funded through the Public Private Partnership model, opened earlier this month for the 2019 school year with more than 200 students in years 7 and 8.
Students are learning in state-of-the-art classrooms including wood and metal workshops, a food and textile studio, music rooms, visual arts studio, performing arts theatre, library, media studio, lecture theatre and 10 science laboratories.
The college is already building a reputation as an inclusive school with a specialist education area with treatment and therapy rooms, life skills room and a hydrotherapy pool for students with disability.
Stage two of the build will expand the college with more general classrooms in 2021 to cater for 1,450 students from Years 7 to 12, with specialist facilities for up to 85 students with disability.
Read more:
Oakwood Primary School was also officially opened on Friday with a whole school assembly to celebrate the success of
Principal Will Davis welcomed new 'Oakwooders' to the school and thanked everyone involved for their hard work to make the facility what it is.
"We're all very lucky and this community will benefit from this [school] for years and years to come," Mr Davis said.
"We recognise that success doesn't look the same for all students but in doing so, we provide a range of opportunities so that everyone can achieve success.
"I'm excited about where we are heading and look forward to being a leading part in that."
Mandurah MP David Templeman said he was also eager to see where Oakwood would go in the future.
“Oakwood Primary School’s motto is ‘learning with heart’, and I am sure all students will be inspired to excel in their new and modern facilities," he said.
“This is part of a $468.7 million investment to build and improve WA public schools.”
More than 400 excited students started at the Oakwood this year after the school's Kindegarten and pre-primary facilities opened in 2018.
The $18.3 million school includes 10 general classrooms, an art and craft room, activities area, canteen, music room, sports store and dental therapy room.
Students are also enjoying a covered assembly area and playing courts for outdoor activities.
Extending the school to include up to year 6 students will ease the pressure on nearby Meadow Springs Primary School and Lakelands Primary School.
