Major expansion of Glenala State High underway

A major expansion of Glenala State High School is underway as part of a $22.4 million investment to cater for the growing school community.

Premier and Member for Inala Annastacia Palaszczuk and Education Minister Grace Grace today turned the sod on the first of three projects to get underway, a brand new $12.6 million learning centre.

The other two projects, a $5.7 million upgrade to the performance hall and a $4.1 million refurbishment of the Trade Skills Centre are expected to start later this year.

“This is a significant investment in Glenala State High School by my government which is a large growing school with more than 1000 students,” the Premier said.

“It’s great to see construction starting now on the $12.6 million three-storey learning centre which will provide the school with capacity to enrol more than 200 extra students which is a fantastic outcome in this rapidly growing area.

“The new learning centre will be a state-of-the-art building which will include five general learning areas, a dance, drama and music studio, a staff room as well as room for future spaces.

“The hall upgrade will deliver an extension and refurbishment to the existing performance hall including stage, dressing rooms, costume store, box office and amenities to increase functionality and space for performing art subjects.

“And the Trade Skills Centre refurb will deliver a new training room, maker space, engineering workshop, material prep space, hot metal annex, project store, staff room and Head of Department office.

“The Trade Skills Centre refurbishment is part of my government’s Local Schools Local Jobs election commitment, where we are investing in 26 projects in schools to prepare young Queenslanders for good jobs in their local communities.

“The Trade Skills Centre also partners with other local schools and TAFE Queensland for year 11 and 12 students to gain nationally recognised qualifications and provides specialised vocational training in the fields of engineering, supply chain and heavy vehicle automotive.

“All going to plan, we expect the three projects to be delivered and ready for use for the new school year in 2024.”

Education Minister Grace Grace said the investment is great news for the Glenala State High School community.

“The Palaszczuk Government has a commitment to building world-class education facilities right across the state,” Minister Grace said.

“We are building new schools, building new state-of-the-art facilities in existing schools, and refurbishing older facilities to ensure they remain fit-for-purpose.

“We are making sure students are getting the skills and training they need for the good jobs of the future, and our investment in schools like Glenala is making this happen.

“Our investment in schools is also creating jobs for those already in the workforce with over 44 jobs being created from these projects.

“Our investment of nearly $2 billion in education infrastructure in the budget is delivering for Queensland schools and creating nearly 4,200 jobs.

Glenala State High School Principal, Daniel Johnson, said the whole school community was excited to see construction of the learning centre now underway.

“The school prides itself on providing high quality learning facilities for our community,” Mr Johnson said.

“We welcome the news of additional facilities as it will present extra needed resources to continue to deliver the school’s excellence programs particularly in the areas of The Arts and International Business,” Mr Johnson said.

Ms Grace said the State Government had a proven record of delivering new and upgraded infrastructure for Queensland schools.

For more information visit: www.qld.gov.au/buildingeducation. 

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Media contact:

Zoe Russell (Premier’s office) – 0439 982 347

Bryce Heaton (Minister Grace’s office) – 0434 575 237