130 | COMMUNITY Ormiston Senior College: Aspec Construction T T Kim Newth New classrooms for growing school Under construction is a new two-storey teaching block, an administration block and a mechanical plant and compressor shed. “Last year, we had 1400 students in buildings designed for 1100, so we were really tightly packed.....” Development work underway at Ormiston Senior College at Flatbush is poised to make a positive difference for students and staff in 2026 and beyond. Having only opened in 2011 the college is still comparatively new, but with Flat Bush one of the fastest-growing areas in New Zealand, the school roll has grown rapidly, particularly over the past three years, putting pressure on school facilities. A decade ago, Ormiston Senior College only had 433 students. Tim Botting, who has been part of the senior leadership team at the college for many years, says 924 students were on the roll by the time he became principal at the start of 2022. “As of today, we have 1500 students,” he says. “While the rate of increase has slowed, some projections from the Ministry of Education have us reaching 2500 or more by 2030 or so. Last year, we had 1400 students in buildings designed for 1100, so we were really tightly packed and had to move cupboards and benches to teach in our library and café spaces.” The Ministry of Education responded to the school’s urgent need for more space last year by greenlighting 20 Short Term Roll Growth (STRG) classrooms. Interlink modular learning spaces were selected for the college, and these have been up and running since the start of this year. “We lost half our playing field, but these classrooms have become some of the most favoured spaces for our teachers and students,” says Tim. “They have really good soundproofing, so they’re quiet spaces for learning. They are also warm and dry – all of them are mechanically ventilated. As well, we have double spaces for our specialist classes, like technology, science and art.” These modular spaces are just a temporary solution. In April, the Government announced funding for 18 new, permanent classrooms including associated administration spaces and a staffroom extension. In the meantime, stage 2 development works are also well underway to help meet the school’s growth. Under construction is a new two-storey teaching block, an administration block and a mechanical plant and compressor shed. Lead contractor Aspec Construction has already completed a new car park (100+ spaces) with entry off Collier Road. At the time of writing, the Aspec team was continuing to make excellent progress on-site, > SCAFFOLDING > SHRINK WRAP > MOBILE TOWERS > PORTALOOS > FENCING > PROPPING > NETTING 0800 666 468 More info affordablescaffolding.co.nz Proud to support Ormiston Senior College > SCAFFOLDING > SHRINK WRAP > MOBILE TOWERS > PORTALOOS > FENCING > PROPPING > NETTING 0800 666 468 More info affordablescaffolding.co.nz Proud to support Ormiston Senior College Your Business, Your Industry, Your News. Each edition priority delivered to your door. i i i i li . www.waterfordpress.co.nz/subscriptions . t f . . / i ti 03 983 5500 Stay informed; we work with business owners and decision-makers across all economic sectors, profiling their success. t i f r ; r it i r i i - r r ll i t r , r fili t ir . businessnorth with structural steel and floor slabs in place for both blocks, and roofing and external envelope works underway. “Aspec Construction is proud to be delivering stage 2 of the Ormiston Senior College development,” says project manager David Rayson. “Our involvement centres on the extension of existing school facilities through the construction of these two new buildings.” The new teaching block is primarily addressing a need for more science and technology space at the college. It will also include four classrooms to host satellite learning for Mt Richmond Specialist School students. Completing the ground floor layout will be a specialist hard technology workshop, circulation zones and a staffroom. Level one will extend and connect with Ormiston’s existing science facilities. It will have two wet science labs, a chemical store, a technician’s room, eight general teaching spaces, toilets and a staff room. The upper floor will extend out to shelter a safe new drop-off zone for students. Roll growth has also put pressure on administration and teaching support space. Part of the funding announced in April has already been put to use enlarging the administration area.
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