First Look At Sydney❜s Most Expensive High School

Imagine eating your lunch in a rooftop courtyard overlooking the city scape. No, this isn't a trendy new restaurant, it's a high school. 

Arthur Phillip High School in Parramatta is the state's first high-rise high school, estimated to cost $325 million, making it the most expensive high school to be built in Sydney - ever. And it's not even a private school!

It is also home to sound-proofed music rooms, playgrounds,a gym, penthouse science labs, and atriums with eight metre-high ceilings.

When Will It Open? 

Arthur Phillip High will open in term one of 2020. There have been cost blow-outs and delays due to archaeological discoveries, fire, and the day to day challenges of building a 17-storey school. 

But when it opens the school will be "different to anything else we've got across the system," said the chief executive of NSW School Infrastructure, Anthony Manning.

Each year group (made up of 330 students) will have their own atrium and mezzanine level with a fully sound-proofed mini-amphitheatre.

Forget what you know about high rises because each level will have its own courtyard - fully protected by steel mesh to prevent falls - with lots of natural light to keep kids awake! 

Are High Rises The Way Forward For Schools?

There'll be another high-rise high school, Inner Sydney High, which is opening in Surry Hills in 2021. However, according to former Education Minister Rob Stokes, it's not going to be a new trend for Sydney. He says these vertical schools are no longer a "preferred" option because the huge costs do not justify the benefits to students. 

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