$44m college is officially opened

With a sense of pride and passion, Baldivis Secondary College principal Keith Svendsen cut the ribbon to officially open the school on Friday.

The $44 million Independent Public School was opened to students in February and boasts a stylish high-tech design and quality sport and art facilities.

The opening came about after a study conducted by the University of Melbourne found positive benefits were being delivered by the IPS model.

Midway through the teaching year, Mr Svendsen said he had already seen the benefits of starting from scratch with independence.

“As an IPS there are different levels of accountability and I think that is really important, it helps to put you on your toes, making sure you are doing everything you need to do in the best possible way,” he said.

“The best thing, from my perspective, is to actually have that ability to appoint and select our own employees.

“Our staff have come on board from minute one — the enthusiasm, the passion, has just been fantastic.”

As a new IPS, Mr Svendsen said the ultimate goal was to put forward programs that match the passion, aspirations and enthusiasm of the students.

“We want to truly engage them and keep things very meaningful,” he said.

Department of Education director general Sharyn O’Neil said the department was proud to add Baldivis to the list of 770 schools in the system.

“It is a contemporary feel and I think that is entirely appropriate given this is a new area,” she said.

Ms O’Neil said the IPS model was a great concept for a new school.

Education Minister Peter Collier, who was unable to attend the opening of the school, but visited later that day, said the state-of-the-art college was catering for future generations in the rapidly-growing suburb.