Growing further learning pathways

A NORTH Queensland high school has received a major cash injection to ensure that students wanting to work in the agricultural industry are “given the best opportunities to apply those classroom skills to a real world environment”.

Burdekin MP Dale Last said he had been given assurances that construction of a new $550,000 greenhouse and agricultural shed at Home Hill State High School would kick off in the coming months.

“When concerns were raised that the project could drag-out, I took the opportunity to raise those concerns with (Education Minister Grace Grace) immediately, so it is great to hear construction will begin in the New Year with students able to utilise the new infrastructure from the second half of the year,” Mr Last said on Wednesday.

“Being able to go to school and learn, hands-on, about the technology our farmers are currently able to utilise plays a big role in ensuring those students who want to pursue a career in our agricultural industry have the best start.”

It has the ability to show them how the science they are learning in the classroom can apply to the agricultural industry

DALE LAST

Mr Last said the new educational infrastructure would help foster pathways into the agricultural industry.

“For students who already are experiencing life on the farm it has the ability to show them how the science they are learning in the classroom can apply to the agricultural industry,” he said.

“In regional and rural communities we have to advocate hard for funding for projects like these and when there are so many benefits to students and the local industries I will always do my bit to ensure we get our fair share of funding.”