OPEN: Ballarat MP Catherine King and John Burt, Ballarat Specialist School principal, at the opening of the school's latest additions.
HUNDREDS of students from Ballarat Specialist School have celebrated the official launch of their Young Adult Centre, middle school and FARM.Friends and family gathered in the school gymnasium as the new facilities were declared open.The developments cost a total of $9 million with more than $4 million provided through the federal government's Building the Education Revolution.FARM, standing for flexibility, adaptability, responsibility and management, is designed to give students hands-on experience and skills to use in the broader community. In addition to this facility, 14 classrooms were built in the YAC and the middle school.Ballarat Specialist School principal John Burt said the YAC provided students with a learning program preparing them for the outside world.He said the new developments had made a significant different to the students' progress."It's preparation for them to go into the community and get ready to take on a vocation," Mr Burt said."It's about the focus on the ability, not the disability."Ballarat MP Catherine King said the project would make life for the students, staff and parents much better.She said it was tremendous to celebrate the opening of the new facilities and to witness the impact it had on the school and its community."The Ballarat Specialist School has been working to lift the educational opportunities of students with special needs," Ms King said.