A brand new Francophone school is set to be built in the Queen City.

Education Minister Gord Wyant was joined by members of the Conseil des écoles fransaskoises for the announcement on Tuesday afternoon outside of École du Parc. The school will take in pre-kindergarten to grade six students.

Minister Wyant said they will hopefully be announcing a location for the school in a short period of time.

“The board wants the school in the north end of the city so that is where we are concentrating our efforts in finding a location,” he explained at Tuesday’s event. “The planning will start, which should take about nine months to a year with construction starting next year.”

It’s one of three new schools to be built as part of the government’s commitment to develop schools in Regina, Saskatoon and Prince Albert by 2025, fitting within their $7.5 billion two-year capital plan.

The new facility will help alleviate some of the enrolment pressures at École Monseigneur de Laval Pavillion élémentaire, a Francophone elementary school in the city’s south end which has dealt with overcrowded classrooms for a number of years.

Alpha Barry, chair of the Conseil scolaire fransaskois, admitted this is the first step to address the lack of accessibility and availability of Francophone education in the city.

“[Monseigneur de Laval] has been the only French school in the city and Laval has been overcapacity,” said Barry. “People are coming from other province and immigration, so there has been growth over the last ten years.”

The new school will be able to take in 350 students. Construction is expected to be completed in 2023.