Member for Wannon Dan Tehan visited the college last week to assess development plans with principal Carmel Barker.

“The injection of $1.6 million to construct a general learning area and demolish some demountable buildings will ensure Marian College students have the infrastructure necessary to help them get the most out of their time at school,” Mr Tehan said.

“This is an important milestone for the school and has demonstrated what can be achieved by a school with strong leadership and a clear vision for the future.”

College principal Carmel Barker said the developments would greatly improve the learning environment for students at the school.

“We’re underway with the planning and appraisals process at the moment,” she said.

“This will allow us to replace some portable buildings that have been on the college grounds for some time and hopefully provide some more open classrooms and meeting spaces for students.

“This really is an exciting time for Marian College.

“The new learning centre will provide opportunities to further develop key learning areas and increase collaborative and individual work opportunities for students and staff.

“The new learning space will be very visual and great for differentiating. 

“It will allow a lot of small groups to work at different levels.”

Ms Barker said the works would incorporate the heritage overlay of the college and the new centre would be built around St Mary’s Hall. 

“St Mary’s Hall is a significant building for us,” she said.

“Being able to incorporate this new construction around a wonderful piece of Marian history has meaning for us.

“We really want to incorporate some of the hall’s history into the project.”

The project is being built as part of the Australian government’s Capital Development Program.  

Ms Barker said she anticipated construction would begin in late August or early September.

“All going well with the approvals process and construction phase, we hope to open it in 2017,” she said.