Department Faces Tough Test As More Students Look For Schools

Newcastle Herald

Monday June 24, 2002

By ANN-MARIE WILCOCK Education Reporter

BACKING onto a wetland north of Wyong, Lake Munmorah High School has $17.4million worth of new buildings and equipment.

It is only half full of students.

But that is a temporary side-effect of the growing pains being experienced by the Central Coast in recent years.

With thousands of families flocking to the area, attracted by low property prices, its original three high schools had been under increasing pressure over the past 20 years.

The strain had become so great that residents had begun to enrol their children outside the area in schools such as Swansea High, at the southern end of Lake Macquarie.

Lake Munmorah High School deputy principal Jeff Russell said the flow of people seeking secondary education had peaked by 2000 when 160 extra students applied for Year 7 at Swansea High.

That year, the fledgling Lake Munmorah High School began to operate in a de facto relationship from the Swansea site.

Year 7 Swansea enrolments reached 300 students in 2000.

The pressure was eased when Lake Munmorah High School moved into its intended buildings last year.

It was one of a number of multi-million-dollar Department of Education school projects in the area.

A spokeswoman for the department said the money going into the region's schools had been aimed at residential development.

Projected long-term educational needs were anticipated, with about 40,000 more people expected to move into the area in the next 15 years.

Lake Munmorah High has 580 students from Years 7 to 9 this year but it won't be able to cope with the swelling population alone.

The $22.3million Wadalba Community School opened last year at Warnervale, 4km from Lake Munmorah.

It has 362 students from Years 7 to 9 this year, as well as primary school pupils.

Work will begin this year to upgrade three former high schools at Berkeley Vale, The Entrance and Tumbi Umbi to form the three-campus Tuggerah Lakes Secondary College.

A $5million Stage 1 upgrading will begin converting the Tumbi Umbi and Berkeley Vale campuses for Years 7 to 10 students and The Entrance will become the senior school.

In the quieter days, pre-1981, Gorokan and Wyong were the only high schools in the Wyong area, with a total 1656 enrolments.

Northlakes High School opened in 1981 and within 15 years the three schools had taken enrolments to 3520.

This year, total enrolments from the original three schools, plus the two new schools at Warnervale and Lake Munmorah, have reached 4268.