Sydney Olympic Park new high school

As Newington residence we have waited more than a decade for a local high school to pop up with the proposed plans to reduce the numbers of students to attend Wentworth point high school it is simply absent minded and no duty of care for our children sake and their future. We cannot be left behind as we’ve waited so long and I’ve been in this community for 20 years plus since the Olympics and it breaks my heart that it absolutely is at a cost of our families and also our children’s education.
In order for this there needs to be solutions catered for the local community and the future leaders of this world. I ask you to reconsider and find solutions as we all know we are growing population and our kids are definitely our future without a sufficient education we are definitely nothing and are lacking strategic vision and long-term planning.

Submission attached

1. Reducing student capacity of the school from the original proposal will impact on the sustainability. SEARS report has identified that the catchment area (2127 +Rhodes) will house another 4000 students in the next 15 years. Reducing student capacity does not offer viable schooling option for families.
2. There is no planning for green space. There are plans for 1 basketball court and a courtyard, but no grass, no playing field. Is the expectation that all the students share that area at one time (rendering the court and courtyard to standing room), staggered lunch breaks or remain indoors? Please look into increasing the outdoor space and the physical health of the students. From the report: "The amended proposal does not achieve the EFSG outdoor open space benchmark of 10sqm per student", but will only offer 6sqm.

I am writing to comment on the ridiculous changes in the new proposal for the LONG Awaited Olympic Park High School!
We have been residents in the area for 20 years & are constantly appalled at the lack of planning put in to this area where complete overdevelopment has been not only allowed but encouraged!
As a former teacher of over 30 years I cannot believe how long & poorly this whole project has been going on.
Now when I look at the amendments to the original plan I am in disbelief!
You cannot properly educate the future of our nation Without adequate facilities. NO Hall, No grounds, no oval --- NO Parking for teachers!!! None of the teachers I have worked with will volunteer to work in these conditions.
I also have two grandsons living in Wentworth point I would not want them to be educated at a school without facilities & that which will be outgrown very quickly. As f or selling off the land on the Peninsula for MORE UNECESSARY Highrise ( Overlooking the School __ Child Protection??? ) PLEASE Consider keeping the land & giving our future generations PROPER Education ! This Is YOUR responsibility! You need to take it seriously!
As for the underhanded way this submission was changed after false community consultation is CRIMINAL!
This is not Good Government! I have no more words I am so disgusted that possibly the education of the next Prime Minister is being so badly compromised. PLEASE RECONSIDER!!!! Amanda Dean ( Resident, Teacher , Grandparent)

I feel the need to object strenuously to the current amendments to the Wentworth Point High school proposal. The key issues I have are;
- Removing the phased approach and approvals means we’re unlikely to see the school ever expand beyond the initial 850 students. It has taken so many years to even get to this point as the infrastructure of the area falls woefully short of demand and having to start anew with an expansion plan will only further delay the meeting of locals needs for schooling.
- The initial build for 850 students may meet the first intake cohort but will be be patently insufficient to meet the demands of the surrounding suburbs including Newington where I live. Right now the catchment for Newington is Concord High School which requires a 1hr plus trip of two buses each way and this is just completely unacceptable. A school within a reasonable distance should be a right of all children and the build of a school in Wentworth Point should at least cater for the needs of children in the immediate surrounds.
- Every development application for multi-story dwellings is being pushed to the absolute maximum and even when approved, changes are requested to increase density, increase height and maximise the number of units being built. Why is it that a DA for a school is being made with reduced height and reduced capacity in this area with the population density plans? It beggars belief.
- There are other concerns I have with the overlooking of future buildings which I know you’ll ignore but I’ll make the point all the same. I also expect to be ignored when it comes to green space, play space and so on but will make the point.
- I fully expect the issue of building the second phase (should it ever come to pass) will impact on all students at the school who are trying to learn. Build it once, build it for 1530 students and service the people who live in this area.

In summary, my main concern is really that the current proposal of 850 students will barely meet the current demands of the area and will guaranteed not meet the demands in the very near future. We need to build infrastructure to support the planned and approved population density of this area. Anything short of that is an abrogation of your responsibilities to the people of the area.

Please see attached my submission as a parent of children in the area with a concern for wanting a school that meets the needs of children and young people and adds value to our community.

Wentworth Point has the highest population among its neighbouring suburbs, measured at > 12,000 people census 2021. This compares to 11,000 in Rhodes, 6,000 Newington and just over 4,000 in Syd Olympic Park. WWP already suffers from a lack of amenities specifically parks and playgrounds for children and pets, mixed use community spaces, chronic shortage of public parking and only one main road in, Hill Road which suffers from chronic potholes, is dangerous for pedestrians to cross, and frequent near misses at Bennelong Pkway intersection. Internet coverage is also notoriously bad for a large number of residents. Wentworth Point is not a suitable location for a high school for abovementioned reasons and more. Building a high school here would only worsen the traffic on Hill Road between Holker and the proposed high school site. Instead, there should be no more new residential developments to be built anywhere in WWP. What is needed at the proposed high school site instead, is a mixed-use community zone similar to the Rhodes Connection development and play areas for children and pets. There should be a bike path and running/footpath that connects all the way from Blaxland Park/Armory wharf, along the shore, connects up to the existing Bennelong bridge but also continues under it along the shore, all the way to Wentworth Common. Like Rhodes Connection, the community facilities should have a cafe/restaurant, public toilets, public parking, quiet working spaces, function rooms/hall, spaces where people can dance, learn yoga and boxing, etc. The area between 'north' and 'south' WWP currently housing warehouses should be demolished and also returned to the public in the form of parks, children's play areas, and public bbq facilities and public parking.
Sydney Olympic Park is better placed in which to build a new high school, specifically the pocket of land where the AM transmission tower sits. This area sits facing Hill Road and is to the left of where the new Urban Wave Park is being built. I suggest the AM tower is easily moved to another location and wildlife that currently live in that parcel can be moved to neighbouring wetland in SOP. The high school will be a catchment for the current WWP public school and other primary schools such as in Newington. Thus it is easily accessible to local children and bus routes can be created from WWP and other suburbs - Rhodes, Homebush etc. As well as good connection from the ferry and train stations nearby. Being located on the southern side of Holker St also means traffic created by the new school is directed away from WWP which is already highly populated and congested.
I suggest the high school will have many students with academic strength. In addition to this, the Olympic Park High School will capitalise on its location on the doorstep of world-class sporting facilities, sporting expertise and training grounds to cultivate students with outstanding athletic potential. Western Sydney and Sutherland shire have sports high schools where students who excel in athletic pursuits are nurtured, why not Olympic Park which is the geographic heart of Sydney? It has the potential of making itself known as a prestigious school for both academic and sporting prowess. It will be easily accessible to and from the M4 via Hill Road, and to Holker St (West) and Bennelong Parkway (north and east); without further burdening the WWP population.
As it is a school, any added traffic would occur between 7-9am and 3-5pm Monday to Friday. I assume the school will organise suitable traffic safety measures during pick up and drop off times. And being a school, it would not conflict with the busy period for the Wave Park next door.
Lastly, being located in the SOP and near WWP nature reserves, the students will benefit from being located so close to nature reserves and I hope this helps them to develop a healthy respect for nature and looking after their environment.
I ask you to carefully consider my proposal carefully as it would be a gross error of judgement to build a high school next to the WWP public school.

Thank you,
A WWP Resident.

I believe the building of the new High School at Wentworth Point is a mistake, as it should have been built at Sydney Olympic Park, which was the original plan. The current plan take valuable and scarce open space away from our community, and from the current Primary School. We were promised a 3.9 hectare Peninsula Park, but as a result of this planned development, this will be reduced to a miserable 2 hectares, which is nothing short of disgraceful. The School will have a shared oval with the Primary School and we are now told with the community. This would deny the necessary space our students require. This is a failure of planned as it does not take in account the needs of students at 2 schools crammed together and a large community of around 15,000 and getting bigger. Our community desperately needs more space and more community facilities. This proposal development is another nail in the coffin for our growing community, which could double in the next 10 years

The proposal of this school does not take in the basic requirements of a school or of the people of the area. No ovals, less green space than actually required (6sqm rather than 10sqm) no parking for teachers. Students will outgrow this school before it is even buitl just like they have at wentworth point primary. This school needs to be re thought with more space and more capacity.

As a resident of 2127, parent and educator, I am concerned that the amendments to the project will mean that teachers and students will lose valuable playground space, learning area in the hall, and numbers will quickly outgrow the supply of available classroom space. To reduce the number of students to 850 is short-sighted, and does not include students who will travel from Newington, Olympic Park or Rhodes.
Not to mention the lack of parking for staff. As a parent and educator, the plan to park at P5 and have a shuttle bus is a terrible idea. Teachers need access to their vehicles in case of emergency and there is virtually no street parking in the area. The land next to the school being sold to build more high rise apartment blocks is abominable, considering the needs of the community are being overlooked in these measures.

Our group is generally supportive of investment in community infrastructure at Wentworth Point. However, the community is extremely concerned that the current proposal has been developed to meet the commercial interests of Transport for NSW rather than the needs of the students or the community. We have listed our main concerns in our submission with proposed solutions and
supporting examples/data.

Fix the surrounding infrastructure first. The school is a good fit across the river in Rhodes :)

The Sydney Olympic Park high school should remain near the sydney olympic park station. Putting the high school at the end of the WWP makes no sense, it's not even in the sydney olympic park suburb anymore. There's going to be 1000+ students attending, how on earth are they going to physically arrive at the school at the end of WWP? There's hardly any frequent public transport to the end of WWP and Hill Road + Burroway road will not be able to support the increased traffic for pick up and drop off. Keep the high school near the SOP train station so students can actually access it.

See attached response to Amended Proposal

Please see attached submission from Linda Voltz MP, Member for Auburn