The campus will include a separate primary and high school co-located within an integrated, purpose-designed and built education campus.

The design of the campus will ensure students of different ages have their own spaces to learn and play while also offering potential opportunities for easier transitions between stages, particularly from primary to high school, as well as collaborative learning experiences for teachers and students.

Based on current enrolments it is anticipated that the new primary school will have approximately 500 students upon commencement and the high school approximately 840 students.

These school sizes are comparable in size or smaller than many other schools in the far north coast region.

Educational research shows that it is the quality of teaching in the classroom that makes the most difference to student success and wellbeing regardless of the size of the school.

The campus model will provide significant opportunities for collaborative practice between teachers and enhanced professional development.

The primary objective of investing in education infrastructure in Murwillumbah is to provide teachers and students from all schools with equitable access to new, flexible learning environments that support contemporary teaching  approaches.

While other options such as upgrading or amalgamating some schools might deliver new and upgraded learning spaces for some students, many existing buildings are not suitable for conversion to contemporary learning spaces and this would not overcome the constraints and issues associated with some existing school sites.

Investing in one primary school and one high school at the Murwillumbah High School site, allows us to provide new flexible  learning environments for all students of existing schools.

Yes. The Department of Education is committed to supporting student health and wellbeing and ensuring every student is known, valued and cared for at all public schools in NSW. 

Importantly, while there may be more students at the new high school and primary school than there are right now, the teacher-student ratio will continue to reflect NSW Department of Education guidelines. Students will benefit from high levels of individualised teacher attention and instruction.

The Murwillumbah High School site was chosen as it is geographically central and has enough flood-free land to accommodate the education infrastructure and associated staff, student and community requirements.

The early planning process has involved a thorough due diligence assessment to ensure the site is suitable for development and will be able to operate effectively as an education campus. 

Due diligence has included, among other things, a site survey, preliminary transport assessment, bushfire and flood assessment, structural building assessment and heritage assessment.

Yes. While some lower lying sections of the Murwillumbah High School site are flood prone, all campus buildings will be located above the 1 in 500 year flood level identified by Tweed Shire Council flood mapping. Initial mapping of the March 2022 water level indicates that it would not have come close to the floor level of any of the proposed new buildings.

The main car park for the campus will be located on the highest area of the site with accessible connections to all buildings. This will enable the campus to remain operational during flooding.

Murwillumbah East Public School, Murwillumbah Public School and Wollumbin High School will continue to operate as schools while the Murwillumbah Education Campus is being designed and constructed. No decision has been made on the future uses for the three other school sites once the amalgamation project has been completed. The Department will consult with Tweed Shire Council and the local community, in accordance with NSW Government requirements on the future uses for these sites.

No permanent staff member will lose employment as a result of this project and all staffing arrangements will be consistent with Department of Education Human Resources processes. 

We will continue to share information with the community through website updates, information sessions and project updates. You can also contact us by email at schoolinfrastructure@det.nsw.edu.au or phone on 1300 482 651.