When the Centre of Excellence in Agricultural Education was announced in December 2019, Amanda Jordan thought it would be the perfect fit for her son Adam.
It promised state-of-the-art labs, greenhouses, and outdoor learning areas, ticking all the boxes for Adam, whose interest in agriculture and chicken farming began before high school.
Amid the fanfare of the announcement, politicians touted the new centre as an education hub for farming industries of the future, to be built on the campus of Western Sydney University TAFE.
Inspired by its vision of doing education a little differently, Adam applied to join the selective school and classes began in 2021 in temporary facilities.
But three years on, the site where the centre was meant to be built lies empty.
After being advised in April last year that the proposed site was irreparably damaged by PFAS contamination, families say they’ve been kept in the dark about whether, where or when the school will be built.
“It doesn’t exist,” said Ms Jordan.
“My son’s in year 10 this year.
“I’m starting to think that he’ll never see the school and that it’ll be the case that the school won’t be built in time for him to finish.”
PFAS derails plans
In 2021, the Centre of Excellence’s first students began learning in what they thought was a temporary arrangement split across Western Sydney University classrooms and Richmond TAFE.
In early 2022 the planned site, next to Western Sydney University’s TAFE campus, was all prepped for construction to begin.
But then it flooded.
The July floods washed so much toxic PFAS over the site that it was impossible to effectively clean up the chemicals and the site was rendered unusable.
Now it sits empty, save for some long grass and insects.
Ms Jordan isn’t at all convinced her son will set foot in the “world-class” education centre he applied to learn in.
“He’ll be a child that’s actually going all the way through high school without actually having a school,” she said.
“The school is supposed to be an agriculture school but there are no animals.”
Students like Adam competed for a spot in the school so they could learn agricultural skills but they’ve had little more than a small flock of chickens to work with.
“I was looking forward to the cattle part of it [and] the sheep, and we haven’t really been able to have that,” he said.
He said the group spend the majority of their time on computers indoors where it frequently gets really hot.
“I’ve adapted to it over the years because I’ve been here since year 7, [but] it can be uncomfortable,” Adam said.
Fellow year 10 student Jessica is equally disappointed, gesturing to the empty field where the school was supposed to be.
“[It] doesn’t look like five science labs are there,” she said.
“I’ve seen all of the videos and plans and all of that, and it looks awesome, but you can’t see it.”
A fading dream
Kathryn Williams, whose son Charlie attends the school in year 9, said the current facilities aren’t appropriate for learning.
“When we first found out about this school, I couldn’t believe my ears because it just seemed like a dream,” she said.
But the facilities are far from what was promised on paper.
“They’re old rooms, as TAFE rooms can be,” said Dr Williams.
“Out here it can get over 40 degrees and that can get very hot if there isn’t consistent air conditioning.
“I’ve heard several computers hit the ground because the power cords have stretched over hallways and then a child’s kicked a power cord.
“It doesn’t seem like they’re purpose-built for the learning and I really think Western Sydney deserves a better solution.”
Dr Williams is thankful Western Sydney University and TAFE have shown consistent support for the school but is urgently seeking clarification on the future of the promised buildings.
“They’re currently in buildings that are probably worse than a standard high school if we’re honest,” she said.
“As our kids get into more senior high school, that becomes a more serious issue and you start to think ‘geez, should I keep my child in the school?’
“I’m really worried that we’re not going to attract the teachers that are required.”
Families left out of the loop
Local state Liberal MP Robyn Preston, whose party was in government when the school was promised, said families have been left out of the loop.
“We need a permanent site allocated and announced so that the families have confidence in this project going forward,” she said.
“The previous government put $30 million up. It’s there, it’s ready. Let’s get the site up and running and get our students into an excellent place.
“This government’s had 12 months. What’s happened in relation to the funding?”
The ABC put questions to the New South Wales Department of Education about whether there had been any progress in finding a site for the school.
“School Infrastructure NSW is actively working on an alternative plan for the Centre of Excellence in Agriculture Education. As soon as we have more information, we will advise the community accordingly,” it said in a statement.
