MP joins fight for school hall

A CALL for the State Government to build a school hall at Canterbury Boys High School is gathering momentum.
Founded in 1918, the school’s original hall was converted into a library in the 1980s and since then, teachers and students have used an outdoor area to host assemblies and other special gatherings.
State MP for Canterbury, Sophie Cotsis, says the students deserve the same facilities as every other school in NSW before pointing out that former Prime Minister John Howard was one of the Canterbury Boys’ graduates.
“The Berejiklian Government should fund construction of a dedicated hall for Canterbury Boys High School out of respect for Australia’s second longest serving Prime Minister – they could even call it the John Howard Hall,” she said.
“Canterbury Boys is one of most multicultural schools in NSW. The teachers provide an exceptional education for students, but the school should have a proper hall for assemblies and functions.”
Principal Ross Dummett said having a hall would also be a tremendous resource to host the local primary schools “to further develop the educational bonds between primary and secondary education”.
He also thanked Ms Cotsis for her continued advocacy on the issue and for taking a petition to the NSW Parliament last month.
“Due to the hard work and efforts of Ms Cotsis, public education in the Canterbury area is in a very strong position,” he said.
Thanking those who signed the petition, Ms Cotsis vowed to continue the campaign for a school hall.
A NSW Department of Education spokesperson told the Torch they were aware of the “concerns around infrastructure” at the school.
“The Department of Education is … currently undertaking investigations to identify solutions to improve learning opportunities at the school and attract more students,” he said.
“The investigations include the suitability of assets to address service needs.”