Thornton Public School upgrade designs go on show

newy.com.au – Concept designs for a multi-million-dollar upgrade of Thornton Public School will go on display at a community information session in Maitland this afternoon as the State Government moves to double the school’s capacity by 2028.

The project plans to deliver a new three-storey building with 16 permanent classrooms, three specialist support classrooms, a new library, covered outdoor learning area and additional parking, replacing demountables and ageing buildings at the 106-year-old primary school. The upgrade is being framed as part of a wider $2.1 billion program for new and upgraded schools in regional NSW, with Thornton and neighbouring Chisholm identified as key growth areas.

The community information session will run from 2.30pm to 6pm today, Tuesday 2 December, in the school hall on Government Road, with families able to drop in at any time to view the concept images, ask questions and meet the project team. The NSW Government says a formal planning application, known as a Review of Environmental Factors, will go on public exhibition on the NSW Planning Portal in early 2026, giving residents another opportunity to comment before detailed design and construction.

School Infrastructure NSW documents state the upgrade is intended to “accommodate the future needs of the growing communities in the area”, with concept designs showing a new support hub and amenities alongside general learning spaces. The design process has included a “Walk on Country” with representatives from the Aboriginal Education Consultative Group and local traditional knowledge holders, with the department saying Connecting with Country principles are being used to embed local culture and landscape in the new school environment.

Thornton Public School currently relies heavily on temporary buildings. Answers to questions in NSW Parliament in 2021 and 2022 confirmed the school had nine demountable classrooms on site and enrolments of 768 and then 758 students, with the then government saying demand could be managed through “a combination of temporary and permanent teaching spaces” and that there were no plans to upgrade the campus at that time.

Since then, official data shows the number of students living in the Thornton and Chisholm communities has risen from 2,100 in 2018 to about 3,000 in 2025, with the NSW Government expecting those suburbs to gain close to 9,500 additional residents in coming years. Maitland City Council’s 2024 State of our City report similarly found the local government area is growing by about six residents a day and is on track to exceed 100,000 people within two years, faster than earlier projections.

Acting Minister for Education and Early Learning Courtney Houssos said the concept plans marked “the exciting future for Thornton Public School”, and argued the project would give Maitland “the educational infrastructure it deserves” while planning for growth. “These concept designs showcase the exciting future for Thornton Public School,” she said, adding that the government was aiming to provide modern facilities and “better learning opportunities for every student”.

Member for Maitland Jenny Aitchison said the plans showed how the government was trying to future-proof public education in one of the state’s fastest growing regions, and said she would keep working with the Department of Education on longer-term needs in Thornton and across Maitland. The upgrade was first announced in the 2025–26 NSW Budget as part of a record $9 billion, four-year school infrastructure program that also includes new schools in Huntlee and Medowie and a full redevelopment of Gillieston Public School, where work is now under way to replace 24 demountables with 32 permanent classrooms and a co-located preschool.

The Minns Government says its “rebuilding public education” agenda is not limited to bricks and mortar, pointing to a reported 61% reduction in teacher vacancies across NSW since March 2023 and a 74% fall in vacancies in Maitland, which it claims has nearly halved the number of merged and cancelled classes.

Following today’s information session, the project team will finalise the planning documents for exhibition in early 2026, with construction to follow government approvals and procurement processes; the new facilities are currently scheduled to be ready for students by 2028, when the school’s capacity is expected to have doubled.