“Land at 225 Alabama Road, Riverlands, has been identified as the most promising option for a new home for the two colleges,” says Jerome Sheppard, head of the Ministry of Education’s Education Infrastructure Service.
“It is a large site, and further work will be done to identify what part of the site will work best for the schools. We will also carry out engineering investigations to confirm which areas are most suitable for building on.
“It’s important to stress that this is not a done deal yet. If for any reason the purchase does not proceed, we have several other options.
“Cabinet has approved up to $63m for this project, which will equip the two schools with state of the art buildings and technology. The two colleges have already started planning how they can bring each of their educational visions to life in a new co-located setting.
“The local community made it clear during public consultation that they believed placing the two colleges on one site, or near each other, would offer the best educational opportunities for local teenagers.
“Both schools are part of the Marlborough Community of Learning with other local schools. Having a shared campus will support the co-operation between these two colleges and the wider group of schools and help them tackle shared achievement challenges,” says Mr Sheppard.