Our College will soon be the recipient of a million-dollar security fence around its boundary.  We have had long consultation with the infrastructure department of Education Queensland to address the implications of new fencing at the College.  The fencing will provide a barrier along the western side of the service road that splits the College from the ovals – this will provide a greater level of security for our younger students against the ever-present risk of parents exceeding the 10kph limit on that service road. The fence will also isolate the gymnasium facility from the school, providing added security on the weekends and evenings when this facility is available for community hire.  Locked gates will restrict all unauthorised access to the College on the weekends and public holidays, which will dramatically reduce the vandalism and trespassing that the College incurs; this has been my experience at other schools which have had a similar fence installed.

Unfortunately, the installation of the fence will mean the removal of the hedge and some other trees on the perimeter of the property.  I know how much this hedge means to many foundation families who purchased plants and may have helped to plant the hedge. Because this hedge is so sturdy, it provides an excellent foothold from which to scale even a 2-metre fence.  It is with a heavy heart and much argument that I acquiesced to remove the hedge.

The College’s location atop this grassy knoll will most likely mean that the fence will not impede the view of the College, and that being black, it will disappear into the foreground and be overlooked.  We will be building some more gardens around the front of the College to replace the much-loved hedge.  This fence will keep our students safer, which is always our first concern.