Preparations are well underway as Champagnat Catholic College readies itself to transition from a high school for boys to the first co-educational Catholic secondary college in Sydney’s eastern suburbs.

Enrolments for boys and girls are now being accepted for 2023 and every intake year after that will be co-ed, said Principal Craig Mooney, an experienced Principal who previously led the co-educational De La Salle Catholic College Cronulla and has held leadership positions in four other large co-educational colleges.

“We’re excited to be bringing more choice to parents in the area who want to experience a quality Catholic education for their child,” Mr Mooney said.

College move to co-education

“The move to co-education provides us with a unique opportunity to reinforce our safe and supportive environment where girls and boys can grow and develop, interact and work collaboratively,” Mr Mooney said.

Ongoing professional development is slated to take place to support teaching in this new co-ed learning environment, although many of the staff at the college already have extensive experience in teaching boys and girls.

Specialised pastoral programs will help prepare the current cohort of students for the exciting changes that will be happening at the college in the coming years, and consultation has already commenced with key stakeholders around the college’s new uniform.

In Term 2, the 2023 cohort will be invited to give their input into the new design and the college is currently reviewing its patrons to ensure all of Champagnat’s students have strong role models to look up to and inspire them.

That’s just the beginning.

Expansion of Champagnat Catholic College

Champagnat will also benefit from a complete new rebuild and expansion on its Pagewood site, with innovative design features to support the latest in teaching practices.

Over the past three years, staff have been engaged in professional development centred on contemporary, research-based teaching …

Education in the eastern suburbs is about to change with the reimagining of three Catholic schools into state-of-the-art, innovative centres for contemporary learning.

Sydney Catholic Schools’ Executive Director, Tony Farley, has announced a dynamic master plan for the Pagewood and Matraville area.

The plan includes a state-of-the-art educational facility to bring together the communities of St Agnes Catholic Primary School Matraville and Our Lady of the Annunciation Pagewood and an expansion of Champagnat Catholic College to meet the future schooling needs of a growing Pagewood-Matraville community.

Excitingly, the single-sex school will also be welcoming its first intake of Year 7 girls in 2023.

There’s high demand in the area for secondary co-education and, currently, there is no systemic Catholic option provided, Mr Farley said.

The key message for all is that the future of Catholic education in the community is bright, innovative, revitalised and poised to deliver exceptional quality in contemporary learning.

Unveiling the building plans, Mr Farley said Champagnat College will receive extensive new facilities, including a new three-storey block featuring a resource centre, seminar rooms, digital technology spaces and a canteen. Science labs, specialist drama, music, dance and fitness facilities will also be constructed.

There will also be a number of new classrooms built with breakout spaces to support the latest in modern teaching practices. The new facilities will include more outdoor space and a covered outdoor learning area where students can engage, learn and socialise.

Champagnat’s expanded school campus will be delivered in stages over the next six years, to cater for nearly 1100 students in Years 7 to 12 at the project’s completion.

Local primary students will also gain a brand new school when Our Lady of the Annunciation Catholic Primary School at Pagewood and St Agnes’ Catholic Primary School in Matraville combine to form one state-of-the-art facility on …