The Minister for Education of South Australia has selected a consortium of TESA Education (Tetris Capital, Dutch Infrastructure Fund, Sarah Construction, and ISS Services) as preferred bidder for the North and South schools project in Adelaide.

The project involves the development of two new Year 12 schools in suburbs to the north and south of Adelaide, the state capital of South Australia. The schools will each accommodate up to 1,675 children – including 1500 students, 100 special school students, and a 75-place children’s center.

The North school will be located along Riverbanks Road in Angle Vale (northern Adelaide suburbs). The South school will be located along Port Road in Aldinga (southern Adelaide suburbs).

Key features of the design include:

• a modern and contemporary learning environment with strong connections between internal and external learning spaces
• a focus on science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) studies to educate students for jobs of the future
• integration and connection, providing unique learning and teaching environments for children, students and staff from birth all the way up to year 12
• design to allow community use, creating an inclusive and accessible hub
• expansive outdoor facilities designed for community use outside of school hours, including courts, an open gymnasium and sporting fields
• a 300-seat performing arts centre and an entrepreneurial hub
• Ecologically Sustainable Development (ESD) principles that meet a 5-green star rating.

The net present cost of the total project over 30 years is AUD 469.4 million (USD 324 million), including the construction component of AUD 233.8 million (USD 161.5 million) over 2 years.

Construction is scheduled to start in early 2020 with the schools opening in term 1, 2022.