Master Plan Frequently Asked Questions
Why is the College undertaking all this construction? Why is it necessary?
The College is currently at capacity for learning spaces with very high rates of occupancy across all spaces during school hours.
Our buildings and learning spaces are aging – some are 100 years old and require updating for the safety of our girls, staff, and community and to meet modern building codes.
The Master Plan enhances all the College’s Strategic Pillars: Academic, Social, Emotional and Digital Intelligence. Modern teaching pedagogy and new areas of learning, such as STEM, TAS and Robotics, also require adaptable and flexible, purpose-built learning spaces.
These improvements will ensure the College remains a leader in girls’ education today and tomorrow, preparing our students for the world of modern work and future study once they leave Pymble.
Improved teaching facilities assist the College in attracting and retaining the best teaching, co-curricular and professional services staff.
Will these works disrupt our students learning? How will the College address this?
The College is ensuring that construction works will have minimal impact on the learning of all our students. The loudest works such as excavation and drilling are scheduled to take place outside school hours.
Our Master Planning staff work in close consultation and partnership with our Academic staff and have full visibility of the Academic calendar. Construction will not take place during the HSC nor during internal College exam periods.
The calibre and experience of our teaching staff is world-class. They have deep expertise across a range of disciplines and are passionate about their work at Pymble. Their commitment to the continued academic success of every one of our students remains unchanged along with their support of these works to provide modern and innovative teaching spaces.
What is Pymble’s Safety Plan?
The safety of our students, staff and community is always our priority. Every phase of construction has been meticulously planned to minimise disruption to our girls’ daily school experience and ensure their safety and wellbeing.
The Safety Reporting Link will be included in every communication and parents and staff encouraged to report any issues that they observe and any concerns they may have.
How can Pymble afford to pay for the Master Plan? Who is paying for it?
The College has managed its finances prudently and conservatively since its establishment in 1916 and has a very strong balance sheet to support future expenditure.
The College has established a Foundation to assist with philanthropic fund-raising to contribute to the costs of construction.
Pymble is in a very strong position to undertake the projects which will expand, improve and update teaching and education spaces and allow the College to continue to provide a leading education for our students both now and into the future.
Is the student cap increasing?
The primary goal of our building works is to improve facilities for our staff and students. The College has no current plans to significantly increase the student population. A submission has been made to Ku-ring-gai Council to raise the student cap imposed on the College in 1998 as a way to safeguard the future of the College.
How are you managing the increase in traffic and the large trucks and construction vehicles?
We understand your concerns about an increase in traffic. The safety of our girls, staff, and parents, as well as the wider community, is our absolute priority and at the centre of every decision.
To limit the impact on parent travel, we have restricted all deliveries and truck movements to occur outside drop-off and pick-up periods.
Designated parking for sub-contractors has been provided on the lower tennis courts of the College, which forms part of the building envelope and is not accessible by students.
The College owns 59B Pymble Avenue and this will be used as a site office and will provide parking for the building leadership team and other visitors to site.
The College has engaged a security guard to monitor Grey House walk during pick up and drop off times, which will ensure only College students, staff and families are using this entrance.
A green travel plan was developed as part of our SSDA and is being implemented. We will be actively encouraging staff, parents, and students to use public transport wherever possible.
There will be a large increase in truck activity during the construction period.
As part of their contractual arrangements, our builder is required to undertake ongoing and continuous traffic management in consultation with Council. They will be using truck staging areas, traffic controllers and spotters.
This Construction Traffic Management Plan, which records all control measures, is under constant review by the College.
Grey House Walk opening hours – how have they changed?
Grey House Walk will not be open for access to the construction site or for use by any construction workers.
It is a requirement of our SSDA that Grey House gate will only be open from 7.00am to 9:30am and 2.00pm to 6.00pm Monday to Friday. A Pymble security staff member will supervise Grey House during drop-off and pick-up hours. The gate will be locked at all other times including weekends and holidays.
Will Saturday sports, and Boarders (after hours) be affected by the construction works? And if so, how?
We are ensuring that the girls’ normal school, sport, co-curricular and leisure activities will experience minimal disruption. Grey House Walk will be closed on weekends.
If Saturday work must take place, then we will ensure minimal disruption to sport and boarding activities.
When will Grey House Precinct be completed?
Grey House Precinct construction works will be completed in September 2025. It is expected to be completely operational by the first day of Term 1 in 2026.
When will the Early Years School open for registrations and recruitment?
We expect to begin recruitment for the Early Years School (EYS) in 2025 with the EYS expected to be open in early 2026.
Will the construction works impact parking or traffic flow within the College grounds?
We have engaged a traffic consultant to ensure an optimal traffic and parking solution.