A plaque was presented at Mount Compass Area School to mark extensive capital works at the regional focus-school for agriculture.

The Minister for Education, Training and Skills Blair Boyer presented a plaque while touring the school during a Country Cabinet visit to the region.

The $11.5 million program of capital works, which were completed in late 2021, have contributed to a growth in enrolment, with an expected increase in 2025 set to take the rise to around 19% since 2022.

The capital works included four new buildings with classrooms, technology studies and hospitality spaces, appropriate disability access and improved staff facilities.

Now in its 125th year, the reception to year 12 school has a 16-hectare working farm with industry-standard farming practices as part of its VET (Certificate III Agriculture) program.  Students work with a beef cattle stud and a small fine-timber forest as part of their studies.

There is also a strong conservation focus, with the school’s freshwater swamp playing a key role in students’ learning about protecting endangered ecosystems.

Mount Compass Area School Principal Lucie Walker said, our school is built on a strong commitment to the local community and a determination to offer our students unique and enriching learning experiences.

“It’s a pleasure to welcome the Minister and the Chief Executive to the school so they can see some of our students engaged in hands-on agricultural and environmental learning”.

“In addition to the working farm, our students are involved in stewardship of the school’s critically fragile area of remnant Fleurieu swamp, which is home to the Mount Compass swamp gum and the nationally endangered Southern emu wren”.

“We are all privileged to play a role in helping to protect this area for future generations”, Walker said.