Stockland welcomes first education hub at new Aura community
Stockland has welcomed the opening of the first school at Aura on the Sunshine Coast today (22 January) with the ground-breaking project marking a major milestone for both the $5 billion community and for education in Queensland.
Baringa State Primary School is a revolutionary public primary school catering to students from Preparatory to Year 6 which is part of collaborative agreement between Stockland, Sunshine Coast Council and the Queensland Government.
The school is the first on the Sunshine Coast to have a strong focus on STEM learning (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) with a unique community partnership arrangement which will see the school’s classrooms and associated facilities, such as auditoriums and sports fields, made available for the entire community to use outside of school hours.
Adrian Allen, Aura Project Director for Stockland, said he was delighted to welcome the opening of the innovative school in the heart of Aura’s first suburb of Baringa, which represented a new era of excellence for masterplanned communities.
“Baringa State Primary School is the first of many schools to be delivered at Aura and we are proud to see the doors open on this quality educational facility at such an early stage in the life of our vibrant new community,” Mr Allen said.
“This state-of-the-art learning hub will set a new standard for education in Queensland and the Aura Veloway and our extensive network of dedicated walking and cycle paths provide safe and easy access for all students living within Baringa, Bells Reach and Bellvista.”
The school features a robotics laboratory with interactive robotics equipment to allow students to code and design, 3D printers, interactive televisions in each classroom, a sound and recording studio and innovation hubs to enable every student to fully engage with the opportunities provided in the digital age.
The school will eventually educate up to 1,100 students in 37 classrooms configured over two storeys.
“We are thrilled that the school facilities will also be accessible for community use in the evenings and on weekends as this opens up the number of services, courses and experiences available to residents and the wider community,” Mr Allen said.
First home buyers Josh and Madonna Brown have enrolled their two daughters at Baringa State Primary School and said a key factor in their decision to build a home at Baringa was having a school within walking distance of their new home.
“Being close to a good learning hub is so important to parents and we’re particularly thrilled to have one just a short walk from our new front door,” Mrs Brown said.
The couple said Aura ticked all the boxes for their family, including space for their children to play and a variety of lot sizes to choose from, and they were impressed by the community’s leading sustainability features, extensive bikeways and colourful parks.
Construction will begin on the Browns’ family home this month.
For more information on Baringa State Primary School and enrolments, visit the school’s website at www.baringass.eq.edu.au.
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About Aura:
Aura is the largest masterplanned community ever undertaken in Australia under single ownership. More than 20,000 new homes will be created on the 24 square kilometre site over the next 30 years and the future city will feature 20 learning hubs within a 20 kilometre radius, a vibrant town centre and retail hub, extensive South Bank style urban parkland, an elite sporting and performance precinct and two business and enterprise parks.
Aura will ultimately feature more than 200 kilometres of walking and cycle paths, meaning residents are within a 15 minute ride to anywhere in the community.
Baringa is the first suburb to be built within the future city of Aura, which has been awarded a highly coveted 6 Star Green Star – Communities rating by the Green Building Council of Australia. For details on Aura go to www.cityofcolour.com, phone 1300 762 058 or visit the Stockland Sales team at 1 Lukin Terrace, Bells Creek. You can also keep up with the community’s progress on Facebook at www.facebook.com/auraqld.