600 new spaces and a gym for Royal Bay Secondary in Colwood

Inside Royal Bay Secondary School. The province announced 600 new seats and a new gymnasium will be added to the school, with construction starting in September. Photo courtesy City of Colwood.

With an anticipated increase in students projected over the next eight years, the province and Sooke School District are expanding Royal Bay Secondary School in Colwood.

The province is committing $23.2 million and the school district is contributing $2 million for a 600-seat expansion and a new gymnasium at Royal Bay Secondary.

Construction is scheduled to start in September and be ready for classes in the fall of 2020.

21 new classrooms will be part of the expansion.

The province says Royal Bay was built for 800 students in 2015 but is operating at 135 per cent capacity.

That is projected to jump to 177 per cent by 2026 without the expansion.

With space for 1,400 students, the need for portables will be reduced at Royal Bay and Belmont Secondary Schools.

In December, the government provided the Sooke School District $23.3 million to buy land in Langford with the goal of building a new middle and elementary school.

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