Community
20 September, 2024
New tech school for Warrnambool
WARRNAMBOOL will soon boast a regional science, technology, engineering and maths (STEM) education facility, thanks to the Allan Labor Government.
Member for Western Victoria Jacinta Ermacora this week announced the region’s new tech school will be located on the Merri Street side of the South West TAFE campus.
The school will provide access to immersive hands-on programs focusing on science and technology to build problem-solving skills and inspire students for future study and careers in tech industries.
According to Ms Ermacora, the tech school will be totally different to traditional technical schools.
Students will remain enrolled at their local schools but will attend the tech school to use the latest technology and experience hands-on, career-linked education to build their capacity to solve local problems.
It will offer a dynamic and energising STEM learning environment, with a strong focus on renewable energy and programs on 3D printing, robotics, coding and emerging trends.
Warrnambool Tech School will provide free access for all secondary students from across Glenelg, Southern Grampians, Corangamite, Moyne and Warrnambool to STEM programs linked to their school’s curriculum.
The Warrnambool Tech School is one of six additional tech schools being funded by the state government in a $116 million, four-year investment.
A feasibility study explored a range of location options for the tech school and identified the most suitable site within the campus precinct on the ground level along Merri Street.
The site is currently occupied by the automotive studies facility which is expected to relocate to South West TAFE’s Sherwood Park training facility as part of the transition.
The government has provided $8.8 million for the project.
The school will now progress to the design phase and is expected to open in September 2026.
“Students in the southwest region will now have the chance to explore future career pathways like never before, in industries that have never been more important,” Ms Ermacora said.
Warrnambool Tech School director Rohan Keert said the school will be a technologically integrated build that is inspiring upon entry.
“It will be designed to look, feel and operate differently from a school, inviting different student mindsets and behaviour,” he said.
