Ground broken on new school in Langdon

School children join the ground-breaking ceremony on a new junior/senior high school in Langdon, Alta., Tuesday

Board trustees from Rocky View Schools were joined by various dignitaries as they broke ground on a new junior/senior high school in the hamlet of Langdon Tuesday.

“It is a proud and exciting day for the board of trustees to celebrate the beginning of construction for this new school," said board chair Fiona Gilbert. "As a rapidly growing school division, the need for more space for students is critical. Once built, this school will welcome hundreds of students in the surrounding community and give them much needed space to learn and succeed."

Among those in attendance were Alberta infrastructure minister Prasad Panda, MLA Leela Aheer, Rocky View County Mayor Don Kochan, Warren Drunkenchief of Siksika Nation, Janice Randhile of Sturgeon Lake Cree Nation and others.

The new school is one of five being built through a public-private partnership known as P3. It's designed to accommodate just over 1,000 students, allowing students who live in the area to attend locally rather than commuting to Chestermere High School.

"The Alberta government’s P3 schools project is injecting millions of dollars into local communities and supporting about 1,700 construction-related jobs," said Panda. "Many of these jobs and resulting economic spin-off benefitting businesses will take place right here in Langdon. Ultimately, thousands of students in Langdon and around the province will have the state-of-the-art new school facility they need to learn and succeed."

All five schools that are part of the P3 project are scheduled to open in September 2024.