Oakford residents alarmed over ‘sneaky’ plan for $60 million Free Reformed Church of Australia school

Oakford residents are up in arms over a new $60 million religious school planned for the area, with the development labelled “sneaky” and “unaligned with community values”. Paul Speering is against plans by the Free Reformed Church of Australia to open a school close to his property. He says driving past the site on the corner of Abernethy and Kargotich roads gives him anxiety. Ms Speering is one of more than 65 people leading the charge against the school, which will spread over 91 acres and include 546 parking spots. The campus will be built in two stages, with the senior school opening in 2028 and the junior school in 2032. The plans indicate that by 2033 the school will employ 150 staff teaching 768 secondary students and 432 primary students, giving it a total student population of 1200. More than 2000 people are members of the Free Reformed Church, which operates five schools in WA, including in Byford, Rockingham and Kelmscott. This includes one in Armadale that will be moved to Oakford. Only members of the church can attend Free Reformed Church schools. The Shire of Serpentine-Jarrahdale had issues with the development application submitted in 2023, citing impact on local traffic as a concern. The council voted unanimously to recommend the development be refused. The development application will be decided by the Metro Outer Joint Development Assessment Panel in June. “There appears to have been a lot of sneakiness regarding this proposal. There has also been incorrect information given to the planners regarding existing roads for a better-looking proposal. Ratepayers deserve better than this,” one residents’ submission to the MODAP said. “A 100 per cent private school only open to a very select religion does not align with the community values and planning,” another submission said.