A Plan is Set
Published: 14 December 2017
Maintaining its practice over the past decade, St Augustine’s College at Brookvale in Sydney, Australia has already made extensive preparations to begin its next Master Plan.
The College is conducted by the Roman Catholic Order of St Augustine, which was founded in Europe in 1256 and has had friars continuously serving in Australia since 1838. St Augustine’s College was founded in 1956, a sister institution to Villanova College at Coorparoo in Brisbane, which began eight years earlier. Both Colleges offer education in the upper primary and secondary grades, and enrol approximately 1,200 male day students apiece.
Conceptual drawings of St Augustine’s College Brookvale campus in the future.
Mr Jonathan Byrne, Principal of St Augustine’s, recently wrote about the forthcoming Master Plan in the College’s bi-annual publication, named Communitas.
He wrote, “The Master Plan reflects our history along with addressing the need to challenge ourselves to redesign how our school will work with innovative learning spaces that encourage increased collaboration, creativity and confidence. It sets out an extensive program of capital works to ensure we remain financially and environmentally viable into the future and aligns with our Strategic Plan pillar to extend and develop College facilities within sustainable practices. The College Leadership Team is applying not just 21st century design principles, but good practical common sense, strategically planning how resources can best be used to help every student have access to the highest possible standards of education facilities in the future.”
He explained that the Master Plan has been developed through a process of research, consultation and planning by school staff, students, teachers and families; exploring their views about the school today, ideas for improving the grounds and learning spaces for the students of today and tomorrow.
Mr Byrne noted, “These changes are not linked to an increase in enrolments by the College. It is our intention that the first of the new buildings will be completed and ready for students for the start of the 2020 school year. As we have done with all previous buildings, we will put plans in place to ensure that there is no impact on student learning during construction.”
Villanova, the Augustinian college in Brisbane, undertakes a similar Master Plan process.
