Woodend Campus Construction – Stage 2A
Some of you – or your children – may have noticed some construction taking place at the Woodend Campus at the moment; this is the works referred to as ‘Stage 2A’.
The College’s planning permit, granted in 2016, allowed for an extension adjacent to the current Woodend Administration building. This area was planned to accommodate the growth in our student numbers, providing additional teaching spaces at the Woodend Campus, therefore lessening the impact on the Senior School teaching and learning spaces. Visitors to the Woodend Campus will have seen temporary fencing in place and perhaps wondered about its purpose.
The build for the extension of the Administration building went to tender late in 2019, with the successful tender accepted in early 2020. This process was before COVID-19. We have appreciated the builder’s flexibility, in working with the architects and delaying the commencement of works whilst we have assessed the financial impacts of COVID-19.
We are grateful for the many messages of thanks regarding the Term 2 fee discount. Aligned with decreased revenue, the Board took a prudent approach to expenditure during recent months and have tested a range of financial models. The Leadership Team have tested the strength of future enrolments, which are sound. Therefore, off the back of strong financial management, which has cleared the decks from the previous build, the way forward is now clear.
We are pleased to advise that the building works will now commence in July and conclude during Term 1, 2021. The contingency for late completion will be the use of some older infrastructure on the Mt Macedon Campus to support temporary learning spaces for our students.
The build contains three additional teaching spaces, including separate music and drama rooms. The final teaching space will be a general classroom. Also, the building will include a staff office and meeting rooms. There will be an expansion to the current teacher facilities, increased undercover area and additional storage for sporting equipment.
Our continual road map for improvement, prudent decision making and assessment of external factors have led us to this exciting point, providing an ongoing evolution of our College. We look forward to providing additional detail in the weeks ahead.
The photos below have been taken of the last few weeks, showing our progress.
