The college announced this week Resicare builders had won the tender for the school’s multi-million-dollar redevelopment.

The state government announced $10 million for the college in March 2014, after the school missed out on funding allocations in the previous three state budgets.

The college’s school council president Rowan Smith said it was a thrill to reach the building stage.

“It's been a long time coming to get to this point, but good things come to those who wait,” he said.

“The new buildings will bring the environment up to the level of education the college provides.

“Resicare also worked on Horsham Special School’s new buildings, and they’ve got a good track record with using local contractors and sub-contractors to get their projects done.

“My understanding is work will start within the next month.

“We have had the site cleared for a while now ready for work to start.”

Mr Smith said the upgrade would involve the area behind Wimmera Trade Training Centre towards the back of the college gym on Baillie Street.

“The idea is that once the buildings are finished, the whole college will be located on that site,” he said.

”Construction will take close to 12 months, but that timeline will also be determined by weather conditions and the usual challenges that come with such a large building project.

“There shouldn’t be too many interruptions to students and staff, but there will be areas cordoned off like when we had the demolition works.

“There is a fair level of excitement about it all.”

Mr Smith said architect and project manager Leigh Dicker had put in a huge amount of work on the project, along with school principal Rob Pyers and his leadership team. 

“Leigh has been great with involving everyone in the decisions and designs,” he said.

“It's a pretty significant workload for everyone.

“The support from Horsham Rural City Council and the school community generally has been great, and the patience everyone has shown to help us to get to this point is greatly appreciated.”