NSW Education Minister Sarah Mitchell flags timeline for public school in Albury growth corridor

Sarah Mitchell was at Thurgoona Public School on Tuesday to announce nominations would soon be sought for potential sites for the new school in the eastern Albury growth corridor

At least two hectares of land is needed for the school which will cater to 1000 pupils.

The government first announced its plan for the school in last year's state budget but Ms Mitchell said it would not open for at least four years.

"It's important to be realistic with the community," Ms Mitchell said.

"We're talking about a tens of millions of dollars investment in a new school here that will be quite a big build, so the fairly standard timeframe that we see from announcement and land acquisition through to children walking in for the first day is on average about that four-year period."

There is no set distance the new school will be required to be from Thurgoona Public.

A new geographic zone for the fresh school will be created but Ms Mitchell said existing students would be able to continue at Thurgoona Public until they complete year six.

A community reference group will be created as part of the planning process and it will have input into the name of the new school.

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Albury MP Justin Clancy said he would like the school built "as quickly as possible" but accepted there was a lengthy planning process.

"I've made it quite clear (to education planners) that I want community consultation to be a big part of that and they've outlined to me the role that consultation will play," Mr Clancy said.

With Thurgoona expected to grow from 11,882 residents to 17,654 by 2036 it will continue to be biggest swathe of Albury without a government high school.

Ms Mitchell said that would be something the government would consider.

"We will take advice from local government, from others in terms of what are our school capacities like," she said.

"I know Justin has talked to me about the growth here and the number one priority was of course getting that primary school but we're certainly not ruling out looking at opportunities for a high school in the future, if the need arises.

"I think our track record of delivering when it comes to building schools shows that we do deliver."

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