Brookvale Public School is the fifth smallest school on the northern beaches, with around 310 students enrolled in 2025. However, it may be small in numbers but it is bursting with spirit. The tight‑knit school is a place of social connection, belonging and purpose. The dedicated staff nurture every child, supporting them to flourish. The school has a rich program of extracurricular activities and also supports academic excellence, hosting an opportunity class since the beginning of this year. The thriving school culture is testament to the commitment of all the teachers, mums and dad, and the great kids at the school. Tonight I acknowledge and thank the entire school community, particularly principal Mr Luke Richmond for his excellent leadership. Brookvale is one of many excellent public schools in my electorate of Wakehurst, but right now it is facing some unique pressures.

For over a year, the Brookvale P&C has raised legitimate concerns about high school catchment boundaries. Currently, Brookvale Public School falls in the catchment area for the Northern Beaches Secondary College Cromer Campus without access to local single sex school options. The department has said that will continue, even though the nearby Northern Beaches Secondary College Freshwater Senior Campus is transitioning to a comprehensive years 7 to 12 high school from 2027 and the new Forest High School is opening in Allambie Height, the suburb right next door. The clear request from the Brookvale P&C is to include Brookvale in the intake area for the new years 7 to 12 Freshwater campus. I am also keen to see maximum choice for Brookvale families, including opening up Forest High School, Mackellar Girls Campus and Balgowlah Boys' Campus.

There are several reasons why keeping Brookvale zoned to Cromer campus is illogical and including it in the Freshwater catchment makes a lot more sense. Firstly, is geographic accessibility: Freshwater campus will be the closest high school, just 1.4 kilometres away from Brookvale Public School. It is mostly flat and a walkable or rideable distance from home for many Brookvale students. Cromer campus is much further away, involving a longer and more complex commute of up to 45 minutes, including multiple bus transfers. Over six years of high school that is about 1,800 hours commuting, equivalent to almost a full school year spent just travelling.

Secondly, is about maintaining community connectedness. Listening to the parent body at Brookvale, the reality is their networks of sports and social activities are the same as the families who will attend the Freshwater campus. Brookvale children train and play with Brookvale Football Club in Manly, play netball at Curl Curl, or are members of Surf Life Saving clubs at Freshwater and Curl Curl, among countless other engagements. We need to encourage continuity and depth of social connection, for both parents and students, across different parts of their lives. Thirdly, and very importantly, there is a fairness, equity and inclusion dimension to this issue. The position statement from Brookvale P&C states:

"The decision to exclude Brookvale from the Freshwater Campus intake also appears to deepen class-based inequalities in the Northern Beaches public school system. Brookvale is home to a far more diverse mix of ethnic, cultural, and socio-economic backgrounds than many surrounding suburbs. Yet, we are being cut off from the high school options being made available to wealthier areas like Freshwater, Curl Curl, Manly and Balgowlah."

Brookvale students and families should get the same choices and opportunities as surrounding suburbs. Brookvale is a small school, so we are talking about a low number of students each year, which will have minimal impact on numbers at the Freshwater campus. The Brookvale Public School community feels that, in both process and outcome, the current high school zoning decision is unjustified and unfair. Frankly, I agree with them. I will not go into the details, but I think the Department of Education could have been more responsive and transparent on this issue.

I thank the members of the P&C, particularly president Hina Osmany, for being so engaged, eloquent and persistent in their advocacy. Brookvale is a small school doing great things. It needs to be celebrated, maintained and supported, not undermined. I have made clear to the education Minister's office my strong view that Brookvale primary students should be zoned for Freshwater campus from day one in 2027. Depending on capacity, I also think Brookvale students should have the option of Forest High, Mackellar Girls or Balgowlah Boys. I have also sought and received the following commitments from the education Minister's office: firstly, for the education Minister to meet with the P&C leadership before the beginning of the 2026 school year; secondly, for an expression of interest survey process for students in years 4, 5 and 6 at Brookvale to get an accurate picture of their high school preferences and the numbers of students; and, thirdly, at the very least for there to be a catchment review in 2027, taking into account actual enrolments across all schools impacted by the zoning changes. However, I am pushing for this to happen in late 2026 so that, if possible, students can start at their preferred high school in 2027.

I have also requested that if Brookvale students are not included in the Freshwater campus catchment from day one in 2027, they should have formal out‑of‑area enrolment priority at Freshwater, Forest High, Mackellar Girls and Balgowlah Boys. I will continue to push for this and keep the community updated. School catchment boundaries may be lines on a map for the Department of Education, but for students and families these are life‑changing delineations. Decisions about school catchments need to be made with local insight and proper consultation. The wrong call has been made in this case, and I will keep pushing for a fairer, commonsense outcome for Brookvale families.