More than $26 million will be spent on the construction of the third stage of Newman Catholic College at Smithfield.
Member for Barron River, Craig Crawford, recently announced the approval of more than $21 million in government funding at a ceremony at the college. Catholic Education Diocese of Cairns will add another $4.4million in funding, for a total project cost of $26,298,000.
Stage 3 will include the construction of permanent administration facility area and library (allowing the conversion to classrooms of the areas currently housing these functions); one Food Technology classroom; three Science laboratories; six general learning areas; learning support facilities; pupil amenities; and a number of storage and engineering areas.
College Principal, Dr Lauretta Graham, said construction would commence on Stage 3 early next year, with the facilities ready for the start of the 2026 school year.
“Newman Catholic College is enjoying strong growth, with almost 500 students currently on our campus,” Dr Graham said.
“By the time that these new facilities will open in 2026, that number will have increased to almost 800, so we are very grateful to the Queensland Government, the Block Grant Authority and the Diocese of Cairns for ensuring that we will be able to provide world class facilities for them all.”
Executive Director of Catholic Education in the Diocese of Cairns, Bill Dixon, said the diocese was committed to providing a Catholic education for all those wanting its benefits.
“Our student numbers have grown by more than 20% over the past decade, with indications that this growth will continue at the same rate, or higher, in the years to come,” Mr Dixon said.
“We thank the Queensland Government and the Block Grant Authority for recognising that the northern beaches is one of the areas where strong demand means we need to plan carefully to ensure that we are able to cater for all those wanting a place in our schools, and for supporting this financially through the provision of capital assistance,” he said.
Newman Catholic College opened in 2022, co-located with the Smithfield campus of James Cook University (JCU).
