The Lakes College community came together recently to celebrate the official opening of its new Performing Arts Precinct and Gym, marking one of the most significant milestones in the North Lakes school’s 21-year history.
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Families, staff, students and special guests gathered for the occasion, which included student performances and a chance to explore the brand-new facilities firsthand. The mood was celebratory, and for good reason. Just twelve months ago, the space beneath the College’s Multi-Purpose Hall was little more than a muddy undercroft. Today, it has been transformed into a purpose-built 1,000-plus square metre precinct designed to nurture creativity, collaboration and student wellbeing.
The development forms Stage 2 of the College’s Multi-Purpose Hall project, and the scale of the transformation is hard to miss. Where there was once an underutilised void, there is now a music classroom, seven music tutor rooms, an orchestra room, a recording studio connected to rehearsal spaces and tutor rooms, and a versatile dance and drama studio that can expand into a larger performance venue when the occasion calls for it.
Principal Nicole Gregory spoke at the opening ceremony about the significance of the development, describing it as a testament to more than two decades of passion and persistence behind the College’s arts education programs. She said subjects like Music, Drama, Dance, Media and Visual Arts hold an extraordinary capacity to engage, challenge and transform young people.
Gregory also acknowledged the humble origins of those programs, noting that in the early days, teachers and tutors created opportunities wherever space could be found across the campus. The new precinct, she said, honours that hard work while laying the groundwork for what comes next.
Students have been quick to embrace the new spaces. Year 12 student Grace said the precinct had created an inspiring environment for the whole school community, adding that the old space had been far too cramped and that the new facility finally gives students the room to come together and collaborate.
That sense of togetherness appears to be exactly what the College had in mind when planning the precinct. Rather than isolated practice rooms tucked away in unused corners of the campus, the new facility brings students, teachers and tutors into a shared creative hub, one designed to spark the kind of spontaneous collaboration that tends to produce the best work.
Alongside the performing arts spaces, the new Gym adds further value to the precinct by supporting Secondary HPE classes and bolstering the College’s Athletics, Swimming and Dance programs. It rounds out what is now a genuinely comprehensive creative and physical wellbeing facility.
The Lakes College caters to students from Prep through to Year 12, and the opening of this precinct signals a continued commitment to providing learning environments that support the whole student, not just their academic development. The school has long championed the arts as a vehicle for growth, and this investment backs that philosophy with bricks and mortar.
For a school community that has watched these programs grow from the ground up, the opening of the Performing Arts Precinct and Gym is more than just a ribbon-cutting moment. It is the physical realisation of years of dedication from teachers, students and the families who supported them along the way.
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The Lakes College is located on Elatostema Street in North Lakes. For more information about the College and its programs, visit thelakescollege.com.au.
Published 27-March-2026
