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Lismore South Public School rebuild underway  

The Lismore App

Simon Mumford

18 October 2025, 8:01 PM

Lismore South Public School rebuild underway  An artists impression of the new Lismore South Public School

It was a groundbreaking day in South Lismore on Friday, literally, as the first sod was turned to mark the beginning of construction on the two new permanent buildings for Lismore South Public School and Lismore South Ngulliboo Jarjums Preschool.


Both the public school and co-located public preschool are being rebuilt at their original Phyllis Street site following the devastating 2022 Northern Rivers floods.



The old primary school was demolished in July this year, and now that the design of the new 13-classroom school has been finalised, work will begin in the next month to construct the brand new primary and preschool.


Lismore South PS (Public School) and Preschool students were relocated across the road from the old site on Wilson Street when demountable classrooms were established during Term 2 in 2022.


Fittingly, Principal Larissa Polak and school captains, Tahlia Taylor and Cooper Hannigan, joined Minister for Recovery and Member for Lismore Janelle Saffin yesterday to get the new build underway.



"I think it was tricky in the beginning to walk past the site regularly, but as time went on, I really think it was part of the healing process for the community to know that there was a plan for the future. And I think the excitement has started to grow now that we've got to the demolition stage, and now we move on to the build," Principal Larissa Polak said.


"The children are really excited, as are the staff and parents, just to see all those plans come together. The children were involved in the consultation process, and they got to have their voice in the process as well, which was fabulous."



"It's a good feeling, and it's cool to see that it's coming along, as well as it's going to be something new," Cooper said.


Cooper won't attend the newly built primary school when it opens at the start of the 2027 school year, as he will be a student at Richmond River High School, but he did express what it will be like for the students who walk through the gates for the first time.


"It will be nice. You get a little bit homesick when you're in a demountable for so long."



The other school captain, Tahlia Taylor, said there have been tough moments during the three years in the demountable.


"It's been, like, really weird, because we run on generators too, so we have brownouts, that's when the aircon and the fan don't work. So it's been hot, but it's been all right.


"The air conditioner leaked when they inputted that, and then there was a leak in the roof, and then the wall was leaking, and a few more other things. We had to evacuate about five times."



Tahlia starts her high school years at Woodlawn in 2026, but is happy for the students who will attend Lismore South PS in 2027.


"It's been a bit sad seeing the school get demolished since I've been here since preschool, but then it's got that bit of joy because it's gone. Every kid's going to get a new school.


"Since I had a little bit of a say in it, I would probably say I'd like to see the new field, because it'd be very big for the keen soccer players, and probably the classrooms, because I'm used to a demountable classroom, not a real classroom and the preschool, I want to see what the preschool looks like."



Principal Larissa Polak said this was an exciting time as the community has been waiting patiently for construction to start.


"The community has been waiting patiently while we've gone through all of the design process to get the school ready. Today's a fabulous day for the kids to understand that building will be commencing. Excited to watch the progress from across the road. So while the children play in the playground across the road, they get to watch the entire construction process happen while the new school is built."


As for the flood resilience of the new Lismore South PS and the Lismore South Ngulliboo Jarjums Preschool, Ms Polak is impressed with the design.


"Well, we can safely say that we're ready for another flood. We're four and a half metres raised, it's a raised site where the whole school is upstairs, with lots of play areas downstairs for the children to enjoy playing.


"There's a lot of decision-making that's gone into a flood-resilient school, from what it's built with to what we do next in an emergency. It's exciting to see that everything has been considered to make sure it's a flood-resilient school.



Member for Lismore and Minister for Recovery Janelle Saffin has a strong connection to Lismore South PS, it was where she started her teachers practice there following her studies.


"It's exciting for the South Lismore community, for the school community and everyone else who lives here, that this is about renewal. We talk about recovery, but this is renewal. And the kids are so excited, you know, like Tahlia and Cooper, representing all the students, they're just so excited. We should see work here by month's end, so see big machinery on site, which is great.


"The materials they use in the school, for a start, they'll be more flood resistant and able to hose out easier after a flood, and just how they do the floor, the furnishings, all of that will be more flood resistant. They have their evacuation route, and I know that the Department of Education make the decisions locally. They know when to go. They always keep our kids safe, and they get them out."


When asked why the school was built back on exactly the same site that caused so much damage and trauma in 2022, Ms Saffin said, "Well, most of the schools built back on site because they're the heart and soul of the community. And Lismore South Public School is the heart and soul of the South Lismore community.



"We've got the sporting fields, we've still got businesses here, we're surrounded by houses, so it makes sense to have the school in the community where people live. Yes, some people have moved off what we call the floodplain, where it's particularly an issue, but a lot of people live on them, and we have to adapt and mitigate. And the school's built that way."


Lismore South Public School and Preschool currently has 107 students from preschool to Year 6, below pre-flood levels, but with the capacity for 230 children when its 13 classrooms are full.


It would be safe to assume that when the North Lismore Resilient Lands site has residents, some children would attend the new school in South Lismore.


During the conversation, Ms Saffin mentioned that another eagerly anticipated school design and build will not be far away....Richmond River High School.


"It's coming in close with Lismore South, and I hope that we're over there in the not-too-distant future, turning a sod there as well. There were geotechnical issues on that site they had to work through, and that took some time."



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