Carinity Education Gladstone students are building exciting career pathways - one manual arts and engineering project at a time.
New facilities at the school have been officially opened - thanks to a generous $1.4 million grant from the Federal Government - helping more young people to enjoy learning while developing skills with real-world applications.
Carinity Education Gladstone Principal, Jane Greenland, said the school's new woodwork and STEM buildings are used to support and implement engaging practical learning experiences for young people.
Jane added the new facilities would provide greater access to Vocational Education and Training (VET) opportunities for older students, supporting their future pathways.
The $3.2 million facilities are the largest infrastructure project at the school since a multi-million dollar hospitality training centre was opened four years ago.
Carinity's Executive Manager Education Services, Christine Hill, said the need to expand facilities at the special assistance school been driven by both student need and enrolments rising by over 500% since its opening.
The school opened in 2017 with 23 students and this year has almost 140 young people from Years 7 to 12.
"Our students thrive in environments where hands-on-learning is possible," Christine said.
The building project, co-funded by Carinity, was completed by Gladstone construction company Youngs in collaboration with Rockhampton-based Beat Architects.
The new facilities were officially opened by Carinity Council Chairperson, James Tan, with Gladstone Region councillors, Simon McClintock and Karen Davis, also helping to launch the new infrastructure.
James said the new facilities would help students engage in their education pathways in fields such as manual arts, engineering, science and mathematics.
"For our young people we value you as you are now, and believe in all you can become," James said.
"I pray this building will be an opportunity for all of our young people to reach their potential."
