A school modernisation and expansion project has commenced at Telopea Park School’s Senior Campus to improve the school and facilities which support students and teachers to thrive.
The ACT Government has allocated $53.4 million over five years for planning, design and construction for the expansion and modernisation of Telopea Park School Senior Campus. This is part of an overall investment in public school infrastructure of over $800 million.
Once complete, Telopea Park School Senior Campus’s expansion and modernisation will increase the school’s permanent capacity by 150 students.
The Relocatable Learning Units used by the high school are in good condition and will continue to be used.
The works will include upgrades to existing classrooms and provide some new school facilities.
Telopea Park School Senior Campus will have new and refurbished learning areas, specialist learning environments, and external learning and play spaces.
The new buildings will be fully electric, contributing to the ACT Government’s zero emissions goal.
The first stage of the project is expected to be completed for early 2028, with project completion expected in late 2029, although delivery timing will be subject to confirmation as the project develops.
Planning will minimise disruption from the construction for the school and community. Learning will continue onsite during construction.
The safety of our students, families, staff and visitors is of paramount importance, so the building site will be fully enclosed by a construction site fence at all times and traffic management plans will be in place to support road safety.
Keep up to date
The Education Directorate will provide regular progress updates via this page and our school newsletter, including details of any opportunities for the community to provide input and feedback.
You can email the Directorate’s infrastructure engagement team on ACT.Education@act.gov.au
For more information, visit the Built for Canberra website’s project page, which is maintained by our delivery partners Infrastructure Canberra: https://www.act.gov.au/builtforcbr/browse-all-projects/education/telopea-park-school
A reminder that public comment on the Major Plan Amendment (MPA) for the Telopea Park School Playing Fields, also known as Montgomery Oval is still open. If you’d like to make a submission, you can do so until Monday 30 March. All information about the MPA and how to have your say is available on the ACT Planning website: https://www.planning.act.gov.au/professionals/our-planning-system/the-territory-plan/major-plan-amendments#major-amendments-open-for-consultation.
The MPA proposes changing the zoning of the area to support the Telopea Park School Senior Campus expansion. The redevelopment proposal includes a multi-purpose hall and performing arts centre, car parking and upgrades to improve pedestrian and cycling access. The new facilities will support student learning during school hours and be available for community use after hours.
Looking ahead, Infrastructure Canberra will be holding a series of community information pop‑ups in early May. These sessions will give the school community and local residents a chance to learn more about the planning process, ask questions and share their thoughts.
You can read more about the expansion project on the Built for Canberra website: https://www.act.gov.au/builtforcbr/browse-all-projects/education/telopea-park-school.
The Major Plan Amendment (MPA) for Telopea Park School Playing Fields, also known as Montgomery Oval, is now open for public comment until Monday 30 March.
Information about the MPA and instructions about how to make a submission are available on the ACT Planning website: https://www.planning.act.gov.au/professionals/our-planning-system/the-territory-plan/major-plan-amendments#major-amendments-open-for-consultation.
The MPA seeks to change the zoning of the area to allow building development as part of our Senior Campus expansion project.
The redevelopment proposal includes a multi-purpose hall and performing arts centre, car parking and upgrades to improve pedestrian and cycling access. The new facilities will support student learning during school hours and be available for community use after hours.
For more information on the Senior Campus expansion project, visit the Built for Canberra website’s project page https://www.act.gov.au/builtforcbr/browse-all-projects/education/telopea-park-school.
As part of this project, the ACT Government is proposing to redevelop the Telopea Park School Playing Fields (also known as Montgomery Oval).
The proposal includes a new multi-purpose hall and performing arts centre, new car parking and upgrades to improve pedestrian and cycling access. The new facilities will support student learning during school hours and be available for community use after hours.
Information on the proposed redevelopment is now available. You can:
- Visit the act.gov.au/builtforcbr website for more details about the Telopea Park School expansion and modernisation project.
- Drop in to an information session at Telopea Park School Hall on Thursday, 27 November 2025 between 3:30 pm and 6:30 pm to view the plans and speak with the Infrastructure Canberra project team.
We encourage the school community to learn more about the project ahead of planned lodgement of the Major Plan Amendment in early 2026.
Thank you for your ongoing support as we plan for the future of our school.
Community engagement and consultation regarding the scope and master plan for the project is planned for Term 4, 2025. More information about this will be provided when Term 4 commences.
The project requires some geotechnical investigations within the Telopea Park School grounds, which will occur from 29 September to 10 October 2025. This will involve testing of the soil and rock in a small area within the school boundary. These early works have been programmed during the Term 3 school holidays to minimise disruption to the school.
The Telopea Park School Senior Campus expansion project team is continuing design work to determine options for the expansion and modernisation. We recognise the interest of the school and school community in the design and it is important that we take the time to work through all of the design opportunities and challenges, to determine the best possible options.
We will keep you updated on progress, including opportunities to view these design options when they are ready to be shared with the school community.
Meanwhile if you have any questions, please contact the team on ACT.Education@act.gov.au
In July, Hayball Architects were awarded the contract to develop a plan for the expansion and modernisation. The project is now in the ‘design’ phase.
Hayball Architects have been getting to know the school site and meeting with key stakeholders to better understand the challenges and opportunities that the expansion presents. As such, representatives of the school community have been providing valuable feedback during this early stage of the project.
In September the project team also spent time with local Elders Aunty Serena and Uncle Richie, who took them on a Walk on Country. This was an incredible opportunity to gain deeper insights into the cultural significance of the land Telopea Park School is built on. The knowledge shared by local Elders Aunty Serena and Uncle Richie will be instrumental in guiding the project design.
What’s next?
More information will be provided in term 1 2025 about opportunities for the school community to find out more and see what is planned.
While it was expected that the preliminary sketch plans would be ready to be shown to the community this term, the design consultants need a bit more time to do some further work on them.
To find out more
To stay up to date with regular updates, visit the school website or newsletter https://www.telopea.act.edu.au/senior_campus_expansion_project.
If you have any questions, feel free to contact ACT.Education@act.gov.au.
Design consultant appointed.
Following a competitive tender process, Hayball Architects was awarded the contract to develop a masterplan for our school’s Senior Campus expansion and modernisation project.
This masterplan will outline the vision, design elements and functionality of the expanded and modernised Senior Campus.
Hayball Architects will spend the next few months working closely with the school community to ensure the plans for the expansion fit with our unique school – Canberra’s oldest school that is still in operation.
These plans will be shared with the community in late 2024, with a delivery contractor to be appointed in 2025.
Once complete, Telopea Park School Senior Campus’s expansion and modernisation will increase the school’s permanent capacity by up to 500 students.
‘What We Heard’ report now available
Thank you to everyone who participated in the November 2023 community consultation.
We asked local residents and the school community to provide feedback about where and how the project might affect traffic, parking and the pedestrian experience around the school.
The ‘What We Heard’ listening report is now available.
- Listening report - Telopea Park School - March 2024.pdf
- Listening report - Telopea Park School - March 2024.docx.
These important insights from the school and local community will inform the delivery of the modernisation and expansion project.
We invite you to read the full report on the link above or on the Built for CBR website and encourage everyone to join in on our next conversation. We will continue to work closely with the school and community on this important project. As the project progresses, there will be other opportunities for you to have your say.
More information about the project can be found on the Built for CBR website.
Design tenders open, RLUs operational
This project has reached an exciting milestone: the Education Directorate is now seeking tenders from design consultancies for master planning and design services.
The request for tender is open until Tuesday 27 February 2024.
For tender information visit: Display 81569-RFT-001 (act.gov.au)
The Relocatable Learning Units (RLUs) delivered at the end of last year were ready to welcome students at the beginning of this school year. The RLUs have capacity for 200 students.
Once the new facilities are built, those 200 student places will be accommodated in the new permanent buildings, which will also provide capacity for 300 new student places.
The Listening Report about the feedback received late last year during the project’s first phase of community engagement – about the parking, traffic and pedestrian experience around the school – will be published soon and made available here.
Keep up to dateThe Directorate will provide regular progress updates via this page and our school newsletter, including details of any opportunities for the community to provide input and feedback.
You can email the Directorate’s infrastructure engagement team any time on ACT.Education@act.gov.au
You can also visit the project page on the ‘Built for Canberra’ website:
https://www.builtforcbr.act.gov.au/projects/education/telopea-park-school
Senior campus expansion project: Have your say about traffic, parking and the pedestrian experience.
Telopea Park School’s Senior Campus expansion and modernisation project is in its early planning stages.
See here for a leaflet detailing the steps in the project’s staged approach.
The Education Directorate and Major Projects Canberra staffed a stall at the school’s La Grande Fete on 4 November, in the project’s first community engagement activity.
The Directorate’s communications and engagement team would like to hear feedback from local residents and the school community about where and how the project might affect traffic, parking and the pedestrian experience in the vicinity of the school.
You are invited to visit the ‘YourSay Conversations’ interactive project page to drop a pin on the map with a comment: https://yoursayconversations.act.gov.au/telopea-traffic
This ‘first phase’ feedback opportunity is open until Friday 15 December 2023. There will be numerous further opportunities during the life-cycle of the project.
As the project progresses, updates will be provided here as well as on the Built for Canberra website: https://www.builtforcbr.act.gov.au/projects/education/telopea-park-school
If you have any questions or concerns, or would like to provide any other kind of feedback, please contact the Education Directorate via email to ACT.Education@act.gov.au
Senior Campus expansion project: the vision
The ACT Government continues to invest in both new schools and upgrades to existing ones so that every child has a place at their local public school.
The Inner South region continues to see high enrolment growth.
In the 2023-2024 ACT Budget, $47.254 million was allocated over five years to commence the feasibility, planning, design and construction for the expansion and modernisation of Telopea Park School Senior Campus.
This is part of an overall investment in public school infrastructure of over $800 million.
Once complete, Telopea Park School Senior Campus’s expansion and modernisation will increase the school’s permanent capacity by up to 500 students.
These 500 permanent places will consist of up to 300 new places plus the absorption of the 200 places currently accommodated temporarily in Relocatable Learning Units which will be moved into a new, permanent structure. The Relocatable Learning Units used by the high school will be removed during the process.
The works will include upgrades to existing classrooms and the provision of new school facilities.
As at October 2023, the Directorate is preparing for the procurement of the design team. The design consultant along with the Directorate will be keeping the local community well-informed as the project progresses.
Telopea Park School Senior Campus will have new and refurbished learning areas, specialist learning environments, and external learning and play spaces.
The new buildings will be fully electric, contributing to the ACT Government’s zero emissions goal. ACT Education aims to have the refurbished areas fully electric also (but this may not be possible).
The project is expected to be completed during the 2027 school year, although delivery timing will be subject to confirmation as the project develops.
Extensive planning will take place to minimise disruption from the construction for the school and community. Learning will continue onsite during construction.
The safety of our students, families, staff and visitors is of paramount importance, so the building site will be fully enclosed by a construction site fence at all times and traffic management plans will be in place to support road safety.