Albany Senior High School and Denmark Senior High School revealed to have multiple high-level building defects

A report listing WA public schools with building maintenance defects has been published, with Denmark Senior High School and Albany Senior High School among them. The latest Building Condition Assessment, dated February 2024, reveals 19 building maintenance defects at Denmark SHS and 14 at Albany SHS. Ten of the defects at Denmark SHS were considered high-level risks, while Albany SHS recorded four high-level risks. Albany Primary School was revealed to have eight defects — two at level-two priority — while Denmark PS was shown to have six. Other Great Southern schools with lower-priority risk defects include Little Grove PS (four), Mt Manypeaks PS (three), WA College of Agriculture Denmark (two) and Yakamia PS (one). The BCA recorded more than 10,400 defects among 834 public schools, with Esperance High School topping the list with 121 defects. Shadow education minister Liam Staltari said many of the schools that recorded the most defects were in regional WA. “The extensive list of defects that I’ve seen and heard about from school communities includes cracked walls, sagging ceilings held up by wooden batons above student desks, broken floorboards, mould-riddled transportables and windows that have literally rusted shut,” he said. “This reality must be compounding teacher stress and the sense of disrespect that we know is driving record resignations. “This report is a long-overdue wake-up call. “No one should have to work and learn in these conditions and the Government needs to sit up and listen.” The Minister for Education Sabine Winton $11.3 million has been set aside for investment in priority maintenance and minor works projects at public schools across WA, including regional schools such as Albany SHS. “These are targeted improvements which will help ensure classrooms, common areas, and outdoor spaces continue to meet the learning needs of students and staff,” she said. “This funding boost builds on our Government’s ongoing commitment to strengthening school infrastructure and facilities, bolstering our annual $125 million maintenance spend on public schools.” She said that 40,000 maintenance defects had been inherited from the previous government and more than $1 billion had been invested since 2017 to slash the number of defects by 70 per cent, including Albany SHS, which previously had 194 defects.