Trustees say school will open on time

Albany Senior High School's trustees have moved to reassure parents that it will open on a permanent site as promised in February.

A number of concerned calls and questions had been received, said establishment board chairman Simon Russell.

He said the Education Ministry had revised a town planning designation which had allowed the school to open this year for Year 11 students on a temporary site at Albany Junior High.

The purpose of the change was to accommodate Year 12 students also for next year. The revised notice of requirement was heard on Monday by planning commissioners for North Shore City Council.

"It is nothing more than a contingency plan in the unlikely event there is a delay to the permanent building," said Mr Russell. "Given our difficult start as a school, this is a prudent and pragmatic insurance measure."

Mr Russell said construction at the permanent site on Albany Highway was progressing well and no one anticipated obstacles to an on-time building completion. Half of the main building was already watertight and framing was up for the gymnasium.

The first state senior high school, it was forced into an $8 million "initial campus" of prefabs after a series of delays in developing the project. Neighbours are opposed to the temporary school being there for any more than a year.

The revision would allow the maximum number of students on the junior high school site to increase from 1500 to 1850 students and 152 staff.

A submission from residents Trish and Tony Cassone said that on their street, English Oak Drive, traffic congestion had worsened since the senior school was established.

"Questionable parent driving behaviour combined with poor traffic flow creates unsafe conditions for pupils and other road users."

Albany Junior High principal Mike Jackson said problems in the street should be reduced when a one-way system was introduced soon. This would mean school traffic entering the rear of the school via English Oak Drive and coming out on to Oakway Drive.