Construction of new Langdon highschool has many excited

Langdon's been growing at a rapid rate, and soon they'll have a new high school to show for it.

As one of Alberta's fastest-growing towns, Langdon has seen the opening of a new emergency building, announcements for a new park, and now a high school which is set to open in 2024. 

Chair of Langdon Community Association Chrissy Craig says the new school will be great for Langdon kids.

"30 per cent of our population is under the age of 17, so we have a huge youth population. The Grade 8 class, there's 120 of them. So you take all of those kids and they get sent to Chestermere, which also has huge growth; it makes for a very crowded school. So it's really important that we end up getting this high school just so that our kids can actually learn without being locked in an overcrowded school," she said.

Other than the obvious benefit of having a school nearby for convenience, Craig also said it will help keep everyone safe.

"It's way more safe. These kids will not be driving down the highway anymore. There's been multiple accidents on Glenmore Trail, and these young drivers are just learning, and putting them on this dangerous highway is not great."

"The kids will go to the school in the community that they live in, and they wont have to drive down highways in the winter."

According to Craig, Langdon's population is projected to be around 12 000 people in 10 years, which is more than double the current population. Pollyco is one of the home development companies in Langdon, and Craig said they're selling way more than expected.

"They were projecting that they would be lucky if they sold about 12 houses a year,15 houses a year. And last I heard they sold over 100 houses in the first year."

While the growth is great, it does come with some challenges.

"It is really exciting. It's a little hard because we're growing faster than we can develop. The infrastructure is not in place, so it's playing a little catchup. But we are getting things so that's really good."

The initial plans were for a high school and a recreational facility both, but at the moment Craig said they don't have approval for the recreational facility.

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