By Brendan Rees
Secondary school students from 21 schools in Casey are only weeks away from having access to cutting edge learning at the new Casey Tech School.
The Tech School is one of 10 being delivered as part of the State Government’s $128 million Tech School initiative, and is expected to open in early September.
Now in its final stages of construction at the Berwick campus of the Chisholm Institute, the new two-storey building will include workshop areas, a biomed lab, a virtual reality lab, video production studio and a digital media studio.
Director Ben Jenkinson said it was an exciting time for prospective students.
“Casey Tech School will have considerable high-end technology and industry-specialist equipment that the schools themselves, could not afford,” he said.
Up to 150 students will have the chance to working in small groups, learning advanced skills in STEAM disciplines as they aim to provide prototype solutions for real world, industry and community problems from the Casey region, Mr Jenkinson said.
“Our building is due for completion in early September, with an official Ministerial Opening likely to occur in mid-September. School programs will be delivered throughout the remainder of the year,” he said.
“Prior to this opening, we are continuing to deliver small activations and curriculum-testing workshops within our partner schools, on campus at Chisholm Institute’s Berwick campus, or for the community at the Casey-Cardinia Library at Bunjil Place.”
Minister for Educational James Merlino said Casey Tech School will form an important link between schools, TAFEs, universities and industry.
“We need students to be ready for the jobs of the future and that’s why we’re investing in Tech Schools so they can get the hands-on learning with technology they need,” he said.
The new school will focus on growth industries including biomedical technology, health and medical tech, and high-tech manufacturing, production and processing technologies.
The State Government announced last year the Casey Tech School will provide 21,000 secondary school students from 21 schools in the area access to high-tech, specialised learning in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) skills.
