Students and staff at Carinya Christian School in Gunnedah will benefit from a brand new middle school precinct, thanks to $650,000 in funding from the Federal Government.

Member for Parkes Mark Coulton officially opened the new facility today on behalf of the Minister for Education Dan Tehan.

Mr Coulton also announced that Carinya Christian School will receive a further grant of $4,982 for ‘The Maker Space’, which will allow students to explore robotics, 3D design and manufacture, electronics and coding.

“It is wonderful to see these excellent new facilities at Carinya Christian School in Gunnedah, which will have a huge impact on the learning potential for local students,” Mr Coulton said.

“The new middle school precinct, which is a $2.6 million development, will allow students to continue their studies at the school following completion of Year 6.

“Students and teachers thrive when their schools have modern and up-to-date facilities like these – that’s why the Federal Government is proud of the Capital Grants Program, which has benefited thousands of schools across the nation.”

Mr Coulton said the new middle school precinct includes four specialist learning spaces for food technology, science, music, and design and technology, which are equipped with flexible, modern educational technologies. It also includes a staff room and meeting room, student amenities, covered verandah and outdoor learning area, and landscaped grounds.

The Government has committed $703 million until 2022 to provide funding for non-government schools to improve their capital infrastructure. Schools that would like to learn more about the Capital Grants Program can visit https://www.education.gov.au/capital-grants-non-government-schools

Photo Caption: Member for Parkes Mark Coulton (centre) officially opening Carinya Christian School’s new middle school precinct today, along with Chad Kentwell, School Principal (left), David Jones, School CEO (right) and school students.