The Riverina Anglican College unveils plans for $5.2m classroom building

The Riverina Anglican College has submitted a development application for a sizeable one-storey building, which would contain 12 classrooms and six study areas.

TRAC principal Geoff Marsh said the building will host classes for history, geography, economics, business studies and legal studies.

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The application comes following the Boorooma school being granted permission to boost its student cap from 1000 to 1505.

Mr Marsh said it will help the school to cope with its existing numbers and ensure they are prepared for any future increases.

"Our demographic studies have pointed to a huge increase in population over here," he said.

"Being the only secondary school around here, we are anticipating quite a need [for places]."

The new learning block will be constructed on the south-west corner of the campus, adjacent to the oval.

It will cost about $5.2 million to construct, and Mr Marsh said it will have a very similar architectural style to the school's existing buildings.

"There's going to be classrooms around the outside of the building and then a central learning area in the middle," he said.

"We've worked closely with our architects to try and create spaces that are educationally progressive and environmentally sensitive."

Mr Marsh is hoping to put the building out for tender in the first quarter of 2023 and begin construction by the middle of the year.

He said the plan is for the building to be complete and ready for use before the beginning of term 1 in 2024.

Construction is not expected to cause significant disruption to the school's operations.

"We're lucky because it's sort of on that south-west corner of our main learning area, so there will not be any major disruptions to the school," Mr Marsh said.

The new classrooms will be used by students across every grade in the secondary school.

Improvements to the front of the TRAC campus, including a $4.4 million upgrade to bus bays and parking lots, are set to begin in February.

"I think it's an exciting time for the school, because [these upgrades] enable us to continue to offer educational facilities at the highest possible standard," Mr Marsh said.

The school is moving to a two-stream approach in its primary school this year, meaning there will be two classes for each year group.

Despite the higher student cap, Mr Marsh is not expecting an immediate increase in pupil numbers, especially for the senior school.

He instead expects the school's numbers to grow gradually over the coming decades, as more people continue to move to Wagga's north.

The only other school in the northern suburbs of Boorooma, Estella and Gobbagombalin is the Estella Primary School, which opened in 2021.

The suburbs have been identified as some of the fastest growing in the state, after substantial land releases allowed for the construction of thousands of new homes.

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