Advertising for the Conroy's Green estate on Greenhalghs Rd shows land earmarked for a future primary school and future secondary school, as well as sporting and retail precincts, on what is currently open paddocks.

The vacant land is a future stage of the Winterfield development, with the proposed education precinct contained in its masterplan.

It is common practice for the education department to mandate that land in development areas is put aside for future schools if needed.

There is also provision for a primary school on a 2.9-hectare site, allocated for future use by the Department of Education, behind Delacombe Town Centre.

"The department is aware of the impact population growth has on areas such as Ballarat," an education department spokesman said. "We constantly monitor current enrolments and population projections and work with local authorities and other organisations to ensure there are enough school places for the future.

"No new government schools have been committed to in Winter Valley or Delacombe. The Victorian Government considers the needs of all schools when determining the allocation of funding for capital works projects as part of the annual state budget process."

The building boom in the city's west, particularly around Winter Valley and Delacombe, is rapidly filling local schools to capacity and with a significant proportion of new homes in new estates containing young families, new schools are likely to be needed in coming years.

IN OTHER NEWS

Nearby Delacombe Primary School this year has the largest prep intake of any school in the Ballarat region welcoming 83 new starters - about 30 per cent more than last year.

The school population overall is almost 15 per cent higher than the same time last year, with 465 pupils enrolled for 2021.

Our team of local journalists work hard to provide local, up-to-date news to the Ballarat community. This is how you can continue to access our trusted content: