John Septimus Roe Anglican Community School

In late 2020, it was determined that John Septimus Roe Anglican Community School (JSRACS) in Western Australia would relocate all educational activity from its Beechboro Campus to the Mirrabooka Campus.

JSRACS approached Hames Sharley to complete a master plan and architectural services for the redevelopment of the school, which will now offer a whole learning journey for the Mirrabooka community.⁠

The extension for the 30-year-old school has been conditionally approved and will allow for an extra 329 students, taking the total to 1752 and another 17 staff members.⁠

Project Lead Derek Hays says the redevelopment will deliver modern purpose-built facilities to support an early learning centre for the Year 12 school experience.

The proposal includes the following:

• Relocate the existing maintenance shed and compound;
• Incorporate new car parks along Mirrabooka Avenue;
• Build a new Early Learning Centre (two Pre-kindergarten classrooms, four Kindergarten classrooms, out-of-school-care facility and undercroft maintenance and storage facility;
• Demolish the existing Year 9/10 block and build a new two-storey classroom facility that includes seven classrooms on each floor;
• Refurbishment of the current primary School (renovating five classroom spaces and transforming the existing Pre-primary into a staff service hub that includes office spaces, therapy and interview rooms); and
• Extension of the Kindergarten building to accommodate one extra class. This will become the new Pre-primary.

The aspiration in relocating JSRACS is to create a strong school identity through master planning, architecture and landscape that will ensure and maximise diverse learning opportunities now and in the future. The redevelopment will also mean opportunities for community engagement and after-hours uses, create activity nodes and strengthen school access circulation.

John Septimus Roe Anglican Community School project aspirations:

• Goes beyond a traditional building; while the traditional class offerings will be taught, the aim is to integrate learning, pastoral care and social interaction throughout.
• Extend beyond the internal walls to integrate the outside areas, and engage students’ minds in both formal and informal settings throughout the day.

To achieve the project aspirations of the school, the master plan and the newly built works look at ways to:

• Strengthen connections to landscape using views and physical connection;
• Strengthen connections between students by blurring the boundaries of the traditionally distinct zones of primary School and senior School;
• Strengthen pedestrian connections across campus;
• Mitigate traffic impact of expansion and assess opportunities to improve physical identity to Mirrabooka Avenue;
• Provide informal and formal learning opportunities across the campus;
• Create activity nodes with distinct functions and enable clear wayfinding outcomes; and
• Provide a framework for future development that reinforces the school’s objectives.

Hames Sharley is proud to create architecture that supports both student and staff wellbeing that is sustainable and contributes to a positive school experience.