Drayton landscape master plan
What is a masterplan?
A masterplan is a long-term planning document that gathers ideas together to guide how areas or places can grow and change over time.
Why does Drayton State School need a masterplan?
This masterplan demonstrates our wish to provide students with an improved school ground, offering better creative learning and physical play opportunities. Also, Drayton is Toowoomba’s first suburb, settled in 1842. Drayton State School is
Toowoomba’s oldest and continually operating school*. In 2026, our school will
reach 175 years of teaching and learning.
We hope to host celebrations for the wider community at our school and showcase our improved grounds benefiting our students.
What historical elements does Drayton State School have?
We have the following heritage-listed elements:
- the bell tower (1852)
- A Block (1912)
- some Date Palms (1932)
- the Cape Chestnut tree (1956) situated at the Darling Street entrance gate.
The Drayton area is rich with history, and you will notice nearby:
- the Arthur Hoey Davis (Stelle Rudd) memorial near the school crossing and current OSHC building on Darling Street
- the Royal Bulls Head Inn (Brisbane Street)
- St Matthew’s Anglican Church (Glennie Street)
- a memorial site on the corner of Rudd and Cambooya Street marking the first church on the Darling Downs.
What are the benefits of this masterplan for my child?
This masterplan is centred on improving the school ground experiences for all students.
The proposed improvements include:
- a new entrance for accessing the school
- new and safer internal footpaths for accessing play areas and school buildings
- an upgraded Prep/Year 1 nature-based play area, with a nearby outdoor games space (noughts and crosses, hopscotch, or the like)
- an upgraded sandpit play area, with weighing toys or similar
- a new obstacle and exercise area on the
- Rudd Street side of the school oval
- relocating the Darling Street side shade sail playground to the oval
- new shaded places in play areas and on the oval, with sandstone blocks for seating
- new picnic-style, break time seating
- new softfall
- a new retaining wall to the secure the Cape Chestnut tree
- upgraded bushtucker and food gardens
- new garden edges, gardens, grassed areas, trees and plants.
When will improvements start?
We were fortunate to receive Department funding for our new school boundary fencing. We have been working with a qualified Landscape Architect and know this plan is a long-term vision for the future of our school. We want to ensure we have considered the right combination of improvements in our plan. Once we are sure, we will progress with how these improvements can be funded.
If you have any
feedback on the masterplan, or have any funding ideas, please submit them by end of business on 31 August 2022.