The Riverina Anglican College requests permission to lift student cap to 1505

Wagga City Council has received a development application for a $4.4 million upgrade of the school's car parks and bus bays which, once complete, would allow it to enrol up to 1505 students.

The school currently has 973 students, just short of its cap of 1000.

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Proposed works include the construction of a dedicated bus bay with room for seven stacked buses, new access points off Farrer Road and two brand new car parks with a combined 258 spaces.

Geoff Marsh, the principal of TRAC, says the works would future proof the school and ensure they are not caught off guard by surging demand for places.

"We want to make sure we have the capacity to absorb the numbers that may arise in the future," he said.

"One of the big bits of work for that to happen is an improvement to the front of campus - that's the bus lane and parking."

Mr Marsh says the upgrades would complement the new primary school building currently under construction and a 12-classroom building being drawn up for the senior school.

According to data from the Australian Curriculum Assessment and Reporting Authority, the Wagga school with the most students is Mater Dei Catholic College with about 1090 pupils across primary and secondary.

TRAC's pupil numbers are forecast to gradually increase to 1505 over the next decade if its student cap is increased, which could make it the most populated school in the Wagga region.

Mr Marsh says it would also make TRAC "one of the biggest independent regional schools in the state".

He said the need for the upgrade was intrinsically linked to the huge population growth taking place in Wagga's northern suburbs

"We know that [continued growth] will have a big impact on us just trying to meet the demand for people wanting this type of schooling in this part of Wagga," Mr Marsh said.

"It's no good having the demand and being able to manage it in terms of classroom space, but not being able to live it because the front of campus isn't done or the bus parking isn't good enough."

The primary school portion of TRAC, which only opened in 2021, is expected to carry the vast majority of the pupil increase as the school is planning to upgrade all younger grades to two classes per year group.

Construction is planned to take place between December 2022 and January 2023 to minimise impacts on the school.

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