LANGFORD, B.C. -- Backhoes carved into an untouched piece of land in Langford Thursday morning in a spot where the local school district has some ambitious plans.
Dignitaries from the City of Langford, local First Nations and the Sooke School District officially broke ground on two new schools in the west Langford area.
Pexsisen Elementary and Centre Mountain Lellum Middle schools are being built just west of Langford Lake on Constellation Avenue.
The schools were named in partnership with the Songhees and Beecher Bay First Nations.
The desperately needed facilities will house up to 1,300 new students, but according to the district, they will be immediately at capacity when classroom doors swing open.
The Sooke district says it remains the fastest-growing region in B.C., slightly edging out Surrey.
This explosive growth for children on the West Shore is pushing builders into a tight and ambitious timeline for the new schools.
School administration is promising that the builder, Farmer Construction, will complete the two facilities in roughly two years.
The Sooke district says it has already identified four other locations from Langford to Sooke where new schools must be built in the near future. The district will now work with the Ministry of Education to secure funding for those construction projects.
