By Ashleigh Fielding | posted on June 22, 2018
A NEW building addition to its campus and an expansion in the schooling program will make Bethel Christian School the fourth school in Albany to cater for students from kindergarten to year 12.
Principal Mim Butler guided The Weekender through an exclusive tour of the school’s new Early Learning Centre on Tuesday and said the $6.7 million, 18-month project is set to wrap up in early July.
Ms Butler said the new centre will have the capacity to hold 200 students and provide the school with the space to retain year 10 students through to year 11 and 12, after a need to expand the school’s K-10 status was identified.
The new Early Learning Centre will house kindergarten, pre-primary, and years one and two students.
The current Bethel campus will cater for years three to 12 students.
Next year will see the first group of year 11s continue their education at Bethel, and 2020 will be the first year the school has a year 12 graduating class.
“We’ve been landlocked for 37 years,” Ms Butler said, when asked why the school had not previously expanded.
“People would ask us why we don’t go to year 12, and I would say, ‘well, where are we going to put them?’”
Ms Butler said a survey was conducted in 2014 and it identified a need for the school to include year 11 and 12 in its program.
However, the issue of campus space still remained as the main barrier to the school’s expansion.
A silver lining appeared in 2016 when an acre-sized property across the road from the school hit the market.
The previous property owners’ daughter alerted the school to the sale and provided Ms Butler the opportunity she needed to increase the campus’s capacity.
The Weekender’s tour through the Early Learning Centre revealed its brand-new plush coloured carpets, colour-tinted windows, interactive whiteboards, whiteboard desks, a three-storey cubby house, slides and climbing walls.
Ms Butler said she is more than happy with the final product.
“I’m very excited,” she said.
“It’s been full-on but I’m happy.
“We’ve just got the carpark and stairs to go now.”
Ms Butler said the school will hold an official opening and celebratory event in October during the first week of term four to unveil the Early Learning Centre.
