College developing plan for growth

A ‘‘MASTER plan’’ to cater for Cromwell College’s rapid growth is being developed in conjunction with the Ministry of Education (MOE).

School principal Mason Stretch announced the plan yesterday and said the public would have the chance to view options and put forward their ideas about how and what could be built at the school.

The school, which caters for pupils from years 713, had 464 pupils and ‘‘reasonably conservative’’ projections put this at about 550 in three years’ time, Mr Stretch said.

‘‘We welcome the growth — it’s a nice challenge to have — but our school is full and we have around 104 primary pupils coming our way next year. We have plans in place to deal with 2019, but now’s the time for serious planning to make the most of these opportunities and to ensure we’ve got the best possible facilities for the future. We can’t be squeezing people into cupboards.’’

The MOE was working with the college to advise on building and funding options, Mr Stretch said.

‘‘They are limited with what they can fund, of course, but the rapid growth has meant we are now a high priority school in Central Otago, which helps our cause.’’

Cromwell College board of trustees chairman Greg Wilkinson said the provision of adequate fitforpurpose teaching spaces was a priority for the board in the coming year.

‘‘After recent meetings with the MOE, it is clear that Cromwell College needs to take the initiative in developing a master plan to support our case for development and gain the funding required. The master plan will take a helicopter view of all school needs into the future, rather than just teaching space, which appears to be MOE’s priority.’’

The master plan was expected to be completed by term three of this year, Mr Stretch said.

A public meeting about the plan for the school’s growth will be held at Cromwell College at 7pm on April 10.