$10.4m redevelopment for Ellerslie School

Work will get under way this month as part of a $10.4 million redevelopment of Ellerslie School in Auckland, says Associate Education Minister Nikki Kaye.

Ms Kaye will visit the school this afternoon with local MP Sam Lotu-Iiga, to celebrate the start of construction with students and teachers.

“The redevelopment will address the school’s ongoing roll growth, as well as classrooms that are old and in poor condition,” says Ms Kaye.

“The current project will see two twelve-classroom blocks built, with sixteen of the new classrooms replacing old relocatables, and the other eight adding capacity for the growing roll.

“Seven classrooms at the school have already been modernised, so this latest project is another step towards creating a modern, inspiring learning environment at the school.”

Ms Kaye says Ellerslie School is one of 30 schools across New Zealand with complex infrastructure issues that have been prioritised for major redevelopment.

“The government is investing around $300 million over six years to redevelop these schools.

“Ellerslie School is situated on a fairly small site, and currently there are a number of relocatable classrooms scattered across the site.

“The new classroom blocks will be two storeyed, creating more outdoor space for the school.

“This is a significant investment by the government which will result in great facilities and enable the school to deliver a high standard of education for the local community.

“As well as major redevelopments at schools such as Ellerslie School, the government has also committed, as part of this year’s Budget, $244 million over four years towards new schools, additional classrooms and school expansions across New Zealand.”

Notes:

About Ellerslie School
Ellerslie School is a decile 9 full primary school (years 1-8).

The school has a current roll of 610 students, projected to increase to around 675 students by 2018.

About modern learning environments
Unlike traditional classrooms, where teachers address students from the front of the class, today’s teachers work more collaboratively with students, either in groups or individually according to students’ learning needs.

When new schools are built or existing schools upgraded, this is an opportunity to invest in modern standards which support new teaching styles and offer flexible, comfortable environments for learning.

Spaces can be changed to suit teaching programmes, and acoustics, lighting, technology, heating and air quality are of a high standard to help students concentrate on learning.