YEARS of lobbying has paid off for a Bayswater school which has won $600,000 in state funding to build a preschool.
Bayswater Primary School had been working on the $1 million-plus project for several years with Knox Council.
The school's early learning centre — built as part of the Building the Education Revolution — will be modified and extended to include extra parking, toilets and an outdoor area.
The council committed more than $400,000 to the project earlier this year, which was a requirement to be eligible for the state funding.
Many parents at the school supported establishing a kindergarten at the site, believing it would make the transition to primary school easier.
Principal Ian Michelson said the introduction of a compulsory 15 hours of preschool for four year olds from next year also increased the need for another centre in Bayswater.
The preschool is expected to open in 2014.
— Tara McGrath