The number of students at some Sydney schools is surging beyond triple capacity, with claims playgrounds are filled with demountables in western Sydney.
Ropes Crossing Public School in Blacktown is equipped for 231 students, but in 2022 has enrolled 899 students - 389 per cent over the school's capacity.
At Meadowbank Public School 590 students will attend this year despite the school having the capacity to teach just 162 students - running at 364 per cent of the school's capacity.
The story is the same in Carlingford West, at 332 per cent of capacity, and Parramatta East Public School, at 303 per cent.
The Department of Education data set provided by the state Labor opposition also shows many schools have upped the number of enrolments by hundreds of students year-on-year.
Labor claims some schools that are only a year old are housing extra students in demountables, which have taken over playgrounds.
But NSW Education Minister Sarah Mitchell said Labor had "neglected" education and closed more schools than they opened when they were in government.
The coalition had "spent the last decade building and upgrading more public schools than any other government in the state's history", she said.
"Our record in school building is $15 billion and 295 schools strong," Ms Mitchell said.
She said the government used the "best available data" including the projected population growth over five years to guide school investment and upgrades.
A $2 billion pipeline of investment projects is underway to address future demand in western Sydney, a spokesperson for the NSW Department of Education said.
Construction at Meadowbank Public School and Carlingford West Public School would soon deliver upgrades or more classrooms, and more construction was expected at Jordan Hills and at other schools across the state, the spokesperson said.
The department added that Gledswood Hills had also received funding approval for 20 more classrooms.
The department said Ropes Crossing Public School was opened in 2008 and by Labor and only delivered 10 classrooms, adding since 2019 the government had since delivered 12 "new and upgraded" schools in western Sydney.
The department said demountables at some schools in western Sydney were a "contingency plan" while classrooms are under construction.
Shadow education spokeswoman Prue Car said demountables were being used at Jordan Springs Public Schools and Gledswood Hills Public School, both of which opened just over 12 months ago.
At Jordan Hills, in western Sydney, enrolments grew from 731 last year to an expected 942 this year, and at Gledswood Hills, in the southwest, the number of students has grown from 854 to 1142.
"If it's not thousands of overworked nurses in our hospitals, it is families in western Sydney waiting for schools they were promised," Ms Car said.
"Why do families in northwest and southwest Sydney have to plead for the adequate classrooms in public schools for their children?"
"They continue to ignore the needs of families, (some of) who moved into these areas with the promise of schools."
Australian Associated Press
