Revealed: Two new Sydney schools to ease growing suburb’s crowding crisis

Tanya Morris has always been worried about which high school her daughter Skylar will attend.

Based in Bella Vista, Morris has limited options, each crowded and under pressure from the skyrocketing population.

But at an empty green lot just off Windsor Road, the NSW government is proposing a solution to her and all the concerned parents in the area: a new primary school and high school.

“It’s just much-needed,” Morris said. “What was going to be a 10- to 15-minute drive for us will become a five-minute walk. It’ll be great.”

Skylar goes to Bella Vista Public School, which she described as being at capacity.

“All the schools here, they’re at capacity. There are so many new families in the area; with the growth of all the housing and developments, I think the system is reaching its limits.”

To address the situation, the Minns government has announced new schools in Bella Vista to support the surging population in The Hills.

The schools will each accommodate more than 1000 students and will be built at a site between the Bella Vista and Kellyville metro stations.

Deputy Premier Prue Car called it the “biggest investment in education in The Hills in a generation” and said the schools would help ease the pressure on crowded schools in the region, such as Kellyville Public School or Castle Hill High School.

“This is about getting ahead of new development as well. It’s about getting that balance right that we traditionally have not, that governments traditionally haven’t got right,” she said.

“We are in a race; it’s a bit of a game of whack-a-mole, of trying to make sure that we build the schools and the infrastructure where it’s required as people move in, but that’s what people expect of their government, and that’s what they’ll get with this government.”

The new high school, which is slated to open by the beginning of 2029, will include a multipurpose hall and a large playing field and will be master-planned for future expansion. It will be able to accommodate 1200 students.

The primary school will be able to accommodate 1000 students and is set to open at the beginning of 2030. It will be built alongside the high school and will be delivered alongside a new co-located public preschool.

Car said the schools being close by would mean students would be able to go from pre-school all the way to year 12 at the same place, maintaining a “lifetime of friendships”.

The government also announced a major upgrade to Cherrybrook Public School, which is set to deliver 28 new permanent classrooms, a new hall, canteen and expanded library. The works will als