Community
25 September, 2024
Upgrades to Catholic college
A $26 million extension of Newman Catholic College at Smithfield is expected to start early next year.
Member for Barron River Craig Crawford has announced the approval of more than $21m in government funding for stage three of the campus with the Catholic Education Diocese of Cairns adding another $4.4m in funding, for a total project cost of $26,298,000.
Stage 3 will include a permanent administration area and library which allows the conversion to classrooms of the areas currently housing a food technology classroom, three science laboratories, six general learning areas, learning support facilities, pupil amenities and a number of storage and engineering areas.
College principal Dr Lauretta Graham (right) said construction would start on stage three early next year, with the facilities ready for the start of the 2026 school year.
“Newman Catholic College is enjoying strong growth, with almost 500 students currently on our campus,” she said.
“By the time that these new facilities open in 2026, that number will have increased to almost 800, so we are very grateful to the Queensland Government, the Block Grant Authority and the Diocese of Cairns for ensuring that we will be able to provide world class facilities for them all.”
Catholic Education executive director Bill Dixon said the diocese was committed to providing a Catholic education for all those wanting its benefits.
“Our student numbers have grown by more than 20 per cent over the past decade, with indications that this growth will continue at the same rate, or higher, in the years to come,” he said.
“We thank the Queensland Government and the Block Grant Authority for recognising that the northern beaches is one of the areas where strong demand means we need to plan carefully to ensure that we are able to cater for all those wanting a place in our schools and for supporting this financially through the provision of capital assistance.”
Newman Catholic College opened in 2022, co-located with the Smithfield campus of James Cook University (JCU).
