Location revealed for new Ballarat growth-zone primary school

The school, to be built on a 3.5 hectare site in the new Winterfield North residential estate, off Greenhalghs Road, will cater for around 350 students.

And Catholic education authorities are also considering building an adjoining early childhood centre on the site to service families in the local community.

The new school will be the first Catholic school to open in Ballarat since Siena Catholic Primary School in Lucas which opened in 2017, three years before the government's Lucas Primary School began classes.

Diocese of Ballarat Catholic Education Limited chief executive Tom Sexton said the massive growth in housing and population in Ballarat's west necessitated a new Catholic primary school to give families moving into new estates more options for educating their children.

Neighbouring the new Catholic primary school site in Winterfield North is a future 10 hectare government site for primary and secondary schools, sports precinct, community centre, mixed use and retail zones.

"Ballarat is exploding to the west, with something like 50,000 extra people living in Ballarat by 2040. We've always known we needed land out to the west for future provision," Mr Sexton said.

"This is the first and maybe there could be more than one school - we will continue to look elsewhere around the west for other future sites."

According to the City of Ballarat's western growth zone planning, which takes in parts of Bunkers Hill, Lucas and Smythes Creek including Winter Valley, the area could eventually contain more than 13,400 homes and 33,600 residents.

Mr Sexton said with student numbers nearing capacity at Siena, and with growing numbers of students right across the city's western region, there will also be need for another Catholic secondary school in the future.

"We've got quite a number of Catholic primary and secondary schools in Ballarat and in the future there's no doubt we will need another secondary school," he said.

Future Winterfield North resident Emily Ord said she was excited to know her new home will be within a block of the new Catholic primary school.

"We are moving in from Scarsdale for better schooling opportunities in the future," Ms Ord said.

While she and her partner don't yet have children, they were conscious of the need to plan for the future when looking for their new home.

"We really decided to build here for school opportunities. Me and my partner are quite young and we were looking at established houses to buy first, then ... we realised it would probably be cheaper for us to end up building instead," she said.

"This new school will be fantastic, just a block from the house."

The first housing blocks in the new Winterfield North estate are expected to title in the next few months.

In 2020, Loreto College purchased a large parcel of land at the corner of Finchs and Cuthberts roads in Lucas to build a second campus to allow it to grow further than its current landlocked site on Lake Wendouree although a timeline for the new campus is still unknown.

Mr Sexton said the new school site will ensure Catholic education can continue to meet the huge demand for Catholic schools among young families in Ballarat's growth areas.

"We are very excited to start working with the local community to build this new school. We know our families value being part of a like-minded community, so as well as building a fantastic facility, we will also be very focussed on building a community where all families are welcome, a community that works in partnership to ensure all students are nurtured to thrive," he said.

DOBCEL will continue to work with the Victorian Planning Authority, the City of Ballarat and local developers to identify new school sites.

Paul Cicchiello, director of communities for Winterfield's developer Goldfields, said providing educational choices for future families of Winterfield was a top priority.

"Community demand for more primary and secondary schools in Greater Ballarat is insatiable. Our new Winterfield estate will be home to a new generation of public and private school buildings ensuring that parents have the best of choices for their children's education," Mr Cicchiello said.