Beaconhills College and the local community will benefit from a spectacular new performing arts and sporting facility due to open for the 2022 school year.

Work is ready to begin on the new Community Arts and Recreation Centre at our Berwick Campus. This is a $12.2m development, including $2m funding allocated from the State Government.

It’s exciting news not just for our students, but for our local region, with the community able to hire a range of spaces catering for large and small audiences, community arts and health and fitness programs.

The planned development was due to start in 2020 but delayed due to COVID-19 restrictions. While the existing multipurpose building has served us well for 17 years, it was never purpose-built. During the construction phase next year, our chapel has temporarily relocated to the lecture theatre until a new chapel is built on campus.

This exciting new state-of-the-art development will provide professional standard facilities for our students and community, including a much larger stage area, orchestra pit and fly tower for technical equipment such lighting, sound and props.

It spans three levels, including:

• ground floor with two large gyms, spin room and wellness room
• first floor sessional drama and two dance studios/classrooms
• main auditorium with 640 fixed-seats, black box studio, gallery/exhibition space and large foyer area
• second floor music classrooms, tuition studios and instrument storage.

As with all developments at the College, we build for the future and I am delighted to see this facility – which will be enjoyed and used by our students and the wider community – finally begin.

2020 has been a challenging year, and a true team effort from parents, students and staff. We all look forward to the ‘new normal’ of 2021 as Beaconhills continues to deliver the wide range of programs and opportunities for which we are renowned.