“It’s just really reactive planning, as opposed to proactive planning.”
asserted
It → ’ → ?
That’s how a parent at one of Brisbane’s biggest schools describes the government’s approach to our bursting-at-the-seams education system, where large school cohorts are managed by split start times and staggered lunch breaks.
asserted
cohorts → ’ → times
Suburban Futures director Ross Elliott agrees the city’s social infrastructure has not been keeping pace with population growth.
asserted
infrastructure → agree → growth
“I think in the last 10 to 20 years, we’ve spent too much time patting ourselves on the back saying how wonderful population growth is for the economy,” Elliott said.
asserted
Elliott → think → economy
“At the same time, [the government] wasn’t looking at the demands on schools, on hospitals – on all infrastructure.”
asserted
government → look → infrastructure
Pallara State School in Brisbane’s south is the city’s fourth-biggest state primary school and an example of an institution juggling surging demand and limited space.
asserted
School → juggle → demand
The split-campus school, which caters to more than 1300 students, was built in 1956 but has had multiple expansions since, most recently a new junior campus for prep and year 1.
asserted
which → cater → prep
The school’s senior campus – for years 2 to 6 – is located 2.5 kilometres down the road.
asserted
campus → locate → road
Before the new campus opened in January, P&C treasurer Chad Redgwell said the school used demountables for years.
asserted
school → open → years
He said it was forced to cancel its athletics carnival in 2024 due to limited space caused by demountables on the oval.
asserted
it → say → oval
When the new junior campus opened, there was no oval, hall, or library for the first term.
“They didn’t want to delay the kids from entering that site because they would have then had to go to the senior school site, spend one term down there, then move the kids down,” Redgwell said.
asserted
Redgwell → open → kids
The large student body was previously managed by splitting start and finish times, as well as lunch breaks.
asserted
body → manage → times
“So you can imagine you had kids in the classroom trying to learn while the other half of the school’s playing outside,” Redgwell said.
“Because there wasn’t enough play space for the kids at lunchtime, they were running into each other, they were fighting over the space – there were a lot of fights.”
asserted
they → imagine → fights
Redgwell said it was his impression that the government was consistently caught off guard by the number of students at the school, and was therefore unprepared for future demand.
asserted
government → say → demand
He said most in the school community were still anticipating the installation of demountables at the junior school in 2028.
asserted
most → say → 2028
Brisbane’s population boom is taking a toll, Elliott said.
asserted
Elliott → take → toll
Almost three-quarters of the city’s state primary schools have an enrolment management plan – meaning they are at or over 80 per cent of their capacity.
asserted
they → have → capacity
Enrolments at just under 90 per cent of the state’s high schools are also managed.
asserted
Enrolments → manage → schools
Seven schools have opened in the Brisbane council area this century.
asserted
schools → open → area
Two are private, and only one was opened in the past decade – two if you count the resurrection of Fortitude Valley State School.
asserted
you → open → School
During the same period, 11 schools closed.
asserted
schools → close → period
Building new schools is especially difficult because of the scarcity of appropriate sites, Elliott said.
asserted
Elliott → build → sites
Another option is repurposing buildings such as large stores like Bunnings or office buildings that are largely unsuitable for housing because of the plumbing.
asserted
that → repurpose → plumbing
“It’s always the plumbing,” Elliott said.
asserted
Elliott → ’ → ?
“In a school, you could have the boys’ and girls’ toilets in the central services core, as they are for an office building.
uncertain
they → have → building
“Then you can have each different level at school, and then you have the tuck shop and the indoor gym.
asserted
you → have → shop
“The question then becomes, ‘well, where do they go for exercise?’
asserted
they → become → exercise
And, like a lot of schools around the world, they get in a bus and go to a shared sporting field.
asserted
they → get → field
“That’s the model we’re going to have to look at.”
asserted
we → ’ → ?
Such schools could also have the benefit of being central, and therefore close to public transport, Elliott said.
uncertain
Elliott → have → transport
Schools are a big part of Brisbane’s infrastructure challenge, he added.
asserted
he → add → challenge
“It’s certainly not easy, and you can understand why not everyone would be happy with the way it’s going,” he said.
asserted
he → ’ → way
“It’s a symptom of the growth, and it’s probably symptomatic of the fact we should have been doing a lot more planning for it many years ago.”
asserted
we → ’ → it
The Aporia
