Willyama’s future secure

Published on 20 March 2024

Mayor Tom Kennedy has welcomed the NSW Government's decision to rebuild Willyama High School, and thanked locals for their strong support for maintaining two schools in the city.

The NSW Government yesterday announced that Willyama would have to be demolished due to a recent mould outbreak, and also committed to rebuilding the school.

Mayor Kennedy commended the Government on the decision, and also acknowledged the passion displayed by local students, families, and teachers around the issue.

"This is a great outcome for our children, teachers, and for the future of Broken Hill, and I applaud the Government for taking this approach," he said.

"I also have to thank the community for standing united and saying that the current arrangement of merged schools is not a long-term solution, and that the city must have two stand-alone high schools moving forward.

"We had a lot of people come to us with concerns that the schools would be permanently merged and I want to reassure everyone that we regularly put those concerns forward to the Government."

Mayor Kennedy said he would also continue discussions with the Government around housing the temporary Willyama High School on a standalone site in the city’s North until the new facility is built.

"We absolutely appreciate and respect all the work that has been undertaken so far to prepare part of the Broken Hill High School grounds for an interim school for Willyama students, but we still believe there's a better option for all parties," said Mayor Kennedy.

"It's going to take at least two years for a new school to be built, and that's far too long to have 1100 kids crammed onto one school site.

"We've already put forward a case that the demountables should be placed on vacant land behind the Aquatic Centre to give all students more space and separation.

"The land is a mix of Council and privately owned land and it is definitely available to place the demountable classrooms, so we'll certainly look to continue those discussions with the Government moving forward."