Forest High School Archives - Allambie Heights News

New Forest High School Campus Opens In Allambie Heights

Photo Credit: NSW Department of Education School Infrastructure

After its relocation to a purpose-built site on Allambie Road, The Forest High School welcomes students at the start of the 2026 school year.

Opening Arrangements For Term 1

The school opens for Day 1 of Term 1 on Monday 2 February 2026. Around 830 students are expected on opening day, including approximately 180 Year 7 students.

Teaching areas, including classrooms and the library, are set to be operational from the first day, while some external works will continue after students arrive.

Allambie Heights school — Photo Credit: NSW Department of Education School Infrastructure

Purpose-Built Campus In Allambie Heights

The new campus is located at 189 Allambie Road and has been developed to replace the school’s former Frenchs Forest site, which closed in December 2025 after more than six decades of use.

Designed as a long-term secondary education facility for the area, the campus has capacity for up to 1,500 students.

Facilities On Site

The Allambie Heights campus includes 73 classrooms and three special support units, alongside a library, canteen and administration spaces.

A multi-purpose sports and performance hall forms part of the development, along with outdoor sports fields and courts. Landscaped recreation areas and outdoor learning spaces have been integrated across the site.

Bike and scooter parking is provided near the secondary entrance on Allambie Road.

Forest High School — Photo Credit: NSW Department of Education School Infrastructure

External Works And Access

Construction activity has continued through the summer school holiday period, including driveway and footpath works, landscaping and sports facility construction.

Approved staging of surrounding access works allows the campus to open while pedestrian and transport upgrades continue. These include changes to bus stop locations on Aquatic Drive, a designated drop-off area and a new pedestrian crossing.

Plans also provide for an upgrade to the existing roundabout at the intersection of Allambie Road and Aquatic Drive to accommodate future traffic demand.

Transition From The Former Campus

Students and staff concluded their final term at the former Forest High School site in December 2025, marking the end of the school’s occupation of the campus that opened in 1961.

The relocation allows teaching, performance and sporting activities to take place within modern facilities designed to support a broad curriculum offering.

What Happens Next

Landscaping, sports court works and boundary treatments will continue after the campus opens. The relocation of equipment and learning resources has been scheduled during the school holiday period, with efforts in place to limit disruption to school operations.

Published 27-Jan-2026

Pedestrian Bridge Calls Grow Near New Forest High School in Allambie Heights

Photo Credit: Pexels

Safety concerns are growing around the new Forest High School in Allambie Heights, with community calls for pedestrian bridges and safer traffic management as the campus nears completion.

Background On The New School

The Forest High School is being relocated from Frenchs Forest to Allambie Heights. Construction is due to finish before the end of 2025, with students expected to move in at the start of Term 1, 2026. The new site is located at the intersection of Allambie Road and Aquatic Drive, close to Warringah Road, and will cater for about 1500 students.

Traffic Management Changes

Initial plans to replace the existing roundabout at Allambie Road and Aquatic Drive with traffic lights have been withdrawn. The revised approach will retain an upgraded roundabout, which authorities say can be delivered more quickly and will accommodate future increases in traffic volumes.

The decision was made after assessments indicated that constructing the roundabout upgrade would allow work to continue while the current intersection remained in use, avoiding delays that traffic lights would cause to the school’s opening schedule.

Pedestrian Safety Concerns

Community members have raised concerns about student safety when crossing nearby major roads. Proposals for pedestrian bridges over Warringah Road and Aquatic Drive have been suggested but were not included in the project scope.

The Education Department has stated that it does not hold concerns about safety and confirmed it has worked with local transport organisations to implement traffic and pedestrian measures at the site.

Allambie Heights school safety — Photo Credit: Pexels

Community Response In Allambie Heights

Residents have expressed unease about future congestion, noting that peak-hour traffic at the junction is already heavy. Many support the installation of pedestrian overpasses, while others suggest lowering speed limits or adding further pedestrian crossings along Allambie Road.

Concerns have also been raised about access for nearby streets once the school and additional developments are operational. Several locals pointed out that pedestrian bridges are already common near other Sydney high schools, questioning why they have not been considered here.

The opening of a Bunnings Warehouse with 400 parking spaces on Allambie Road in 2026, located about 250 metres from the school, has added to concerns that the area will face even greater congestion and safety challenges.

Next Steps

The Education Department has confirmed it is working with the school’s leadership team to finalise operational arrangements for staff and students ahead of the 2026 opening. Community calls for further safety measures, particularly pedestrian bridges, continue as construction moves towards completion.

Published 23-Sep-2025

Allambie Heights School Construction Causes Environmental Damage, Threatens Prehistoric Fish

Photo Credit: SaveManlyDamBushland/Facebook

A construction contractor in Allambie Heights has been fined $30,000 for causing environmental damage from sediment-laden runoff at The Forest High School site. The runoff polluted a creek home to a critically endangered fish species.

The Incident and Its Impact

The New South Wales Environment Protection Authority (EPA) found that ADCO Constructions failed to implement adequate sediment controls during heavy earthworks early in 2024. As a result, polluted water escaped into Curl Curl Creek, an ecologically sensitive waterway linked to Manly Dam.

Curl Curl Creek is the habitat of the Climbing Galaxias, a prehistoric freshwater fish species that has existed for over 60 million years. The pollution raised serious concerns about the survival of this critically endangered species, which relies on clean and stable ecosystems to thrive.

Community Reports Spark Investigation

The issue came to light after heavy rain in February 2024, when local environmentalists noticed brown, silt-laden water in Curl Curl Creek. Concerned residents reported their findings to the EPA, which conducted inspections with support from Northern Beaches Council. The investigation confirmed that sediment from the Allambie Heights construction site had reached the creek via stormwater drains.

Authorities also discovered that ADCO Constructions had been warned about similar run-off issues earlier in January but failed to take sufficient corrective action.

EPA’s Response

An EPA spokesperson stated that protecting sensitive ecosystems like Curl Curl Creek is a top priority and that compliance with environmental regulations is non-negotiable. The EPA noted that adequate pollution controls were not in place at the time of the incident, which was described as unacceptable.

The EPA has committed to monitoring the construction site on an ongoing basis to ensure compliance and prevent further damage to the local environment. The organisation has also urged residents to report any potential pollution incidents to its Environment Line.

Forest High School construction in Allambie Heights brings environmental damage — *Photo Credit: Save ManlyDamBushland/Facebook*

Community Concerns and Future Measures

Local environmental advocates expressed relief that the issue was being addressed but emphasised the need for stricter oversight. The Northern Beaches Council stated that it will continue to work with the EPA to enforce environmental standards at the site. The construction of The Forest High School, part of a relocation project, will remain scrutinized to ensure it does not further endanger the region’s unique biodiversity.

The EPA reminded all contractors working in ecologically sensitive areas of their legal responsibility to prevent environmental damage and protect local habitats.

Published 26-Nov-2024