New $25m Indigenous school after old site demolished for South Road
An Adelaide school for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students officially opened today, complete with yarning spaces, digital art spaces and a 900 square-metre gymnasium.
Warriappendi Secondary School officially opened its new home in Thebarton on Monday after it was forced to relocate from its former site at Marleston. The school was now located in the refurbished former TechinSA buildings.
Originally established in the 1980s by two Aunties, Veronica Brodie and Leila Rankine, Warriappendi is currently attended by about 80 students.
Its old campus has been demolished for the River Torrens to Darlington Project, with the state government saying the school had also outgrown its John Street site.
The new school accommodates up to 150 students and includes yarning spaces and areas for cultural learning, wellbeing, drama and music, as well as STEM laboratories, a library, a commercial kitchen, visual and digital arts spaces, a 900 square-metre gymnasium and an oval.
“It’s really important that Warriappendi School retained its cultural identity, with the move providing a number of opportunities for students to be involved in the design of the new school,” Education Minister Blair Boyer said.
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“This means the school will be able to keep attracting Aboriginal students from right across Adelaide who are looking for a strong sense of belonging and a positive cultural learning environment.
“I think more than any other build that’s been done, I think it’s so important to listen to the community, and that meant that it took time – obviously, some frustrations in that for people.
“The thing that makes me so happy, and I can proudly say as I stand here today, is that all the feedback I’ve had from the community, as well as the people who work here and those who represent the area of council and state, are really happy with what we’ve created here.”
The school was designed by JPE Design Studio and built by BADGE Constructions at a cost of about $25 million.
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The government said that the design was carefully considered cultural requirements through close consultation with the school community, with cultural design stakeholder engagement and Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander employment outcomes as a focus for the project team.
A standout feature of the school is an artwork titled Foundation of the Future by Aboriginal artist Scott Rathman at the front entrance.
Principal Craig Bailey said the school would stay true to the vision of its original founders.
“We are still family, still intimate, still connected to culture, and we have retained our identity,” he said.
“The opportunity now exists for the community and its students to thrive in a contemporary and dynamic environment where learning is the focus.
“Aunty Veronica and Leila Rankine, our other founder, would be so proud – look at how the inspiration for a school and passion for education has transformed into 7 Ann Nelson Drive, Thebarton, Warriapendi Secondary School.”
Warriapendi staff member Josephine Judge-Rigney acknowledged Veronica Brodie and Leila Rankine, “who had a vision about opening a school for Aboriginal students”.
“Their vision has now come true for over 45 years. The school has been moved four times now, and finally, Warriappendi is the resting place of the two aunties, as well,” she said.
