The Great Depression caused a dramatic reduction in public building work in Queensland and brought private building work to a standstill. The Forgan Smith Labor Government came to power in June 1932 after a campaign that advocated increased government spending to counter the effects of the Depression. It embarked on a large public building programme designed to promote the employment of local skilled workers, the purchase of local building materials and the production of commodious, low maintenance buildings which would be a long-term asset to the state. This building programme included: government offices, schools and colleges; university buildings; hospitals and asylums; courthouses, police stations and gaols. Extension of Block C was approved and commenced in September 1932. Comprising two classrooms of with wide verandahs and a hat room on two levels, plus lavatory facilities underneath, it accommodated a further 80 pupils and cost £1033. The design and materials matched existing work. In the same year, lavatories were also constructed under Block B, and a dressing shed added to the swimming pool. Immediately after the completion of the addition to Block C, more classrooms were required for the 707 pupils enrolled at June 1933, as the school's 13 classrooms accommodated only 520 pupils. Plans for a major extension to Block B, which would complete that building for approximately £3,388, were approved in December 1933 and construction began early in 1934. The DPW's Annual Report described it as a three-storied addition with separate entrances to each floor. The middle floor contained a single classroom designed as a one-teacher school with a gallery for 36 trainees and a wide verandah. The top floor contained two classrooms, stairs, verandah, hat room and cloakroom. Folding partitions separated these and the existing classrooms. The floor of one of the new classrooms was raised above the level of the floor of the existing classroom, which enabled it to be used as a stage. The new classroom, together with the four existing rooms, formed a large assembly hall when the folding partitions were opened. The cloakroom served as a dressing room behind the stage. In 1935, less than a year after the completion of the Block B addition, the head teacher requested more accommodation. The disparity between the number of pupils and classrooms worsened, as work on addition did not commence until after May 1939, by which time the school population had risen to 822. With an authorised cost of £4,387, these additions to Block C completed the symmetrical layout of the school buildings. Constructed of brick and concrete with a Marseilles tile roof, the design utilised the fall of the land on the site to provide sub-basement, basement and ground floors.