A brand new primary school north of Launceston is set to open its doors to students for the first time in just over a month.
Legana Primary School is the first public primary school to be built in more than a decade.
Premier Jeremy Rockliff said the school, promised during the 2018 election, is on land that was once wet dairy paddocks.
“There was not a building in sight. We saw plenty of cows, of course, but we thought about the vision for a new Legana Primary School and we can still see cows just out the classroom window there, which is fantastic,” he said.
“Legana is one of Launceston’s fastest growing areas and this brand new school will support the community as it continues to grow.”
The $34 million school will cater to up to 350 students from Kindergarten to Year 6 and “is going to be the absolute heart of the Legana community”, according to Education Minister Jo Palmer.
“This is where children will come together to connect, they’ll ride their bikes to school together, they’ll hang out with each other on the weekends, realising and connecting through school that they live so close to each other,” she said.
Principal Liz O’Donahue said enrolments are currently about 120.
“It’s constantly increasing,” she said. “In our primary areas where we thought we might be smaller, that’s continuing to grow.”
“Our kindergarten’s sitting at 39 and if you look at that every year, if that’s what we achieved every year, which I’m sure we will, that’s how fast our schools will grow.”
