With the Catholic population of the inner western suburbs of Sydney increased after World War II, the parish of St Patrick’s, Summer Hill was established in 1949. The first parish priest, Monsignor Michael Cronin, arranged for the Sisters of St Joseph (Lochinvar Congregation) to staff a parish school. Twenty six pupils were in Kindergarten and First Class classes when St Patrick’s began on 7 February 1949. Today, St Patrick Summer Hill remains a co-educational primary school from Kindergarten to Year 6. Read More

The suburb of Riverwood (then known as Herne Bay) developed rapidly after World War II. There were no parish buildings, and the first church was a hut from World War II. These huts would also accommodate St Joseph’s School in its early years. The Settlement School was opened in January 1949. Also in 1949, Fr Patrick Kerick was appointed parish priest of Herne Bay. In 1950, the present church and school site in Thurlow Street was purchased and construction of permanent buildings began. The Sisters of St Joseph staffed the school and helped take care of it. St Joseph’s remains a substantial parish primary school, educating students from Kindergarten to Year 6. Read More

In 1948, the parish of Sefton was established and placed in the care of the Oblate Fathers of Mary Immaculate. The first parish priest, Fr Dan Breslin OMI, worked hard to establish a parish school. He was rewarded when two Sisters of St Joseph from the Lidcombe community arrived in May 1950. The school began in the church hall with 48 pupils.

The school developed as a primary school for girls from Kindergarten to Sixth Class and for boys to Fifth Class. Immaculate Heart of Mary School is a systemic co-educational primary school, for boys and girls from Kindergarten to Year 6. Read More

Regina Coeli Catholic Primary School Beverly Hills was opened in 1947 by the Sisters of St Joseph with an enrolment of 39 pupils in Kindergarten to Year 2. They began with classes in the presbytery, then in the parish hall, until classrooms could be built. Today, Regina Coeli continues as a parish primary school administered by Sydney Catholic Schools for boys and girls from Kindergarten to Year 6. Read More

St Agnes’ school began in 1940 when Matraville was part of the new parish of Malabar. It started as a church-school in Perry Street, Matraville, with desks moved out every weekend to allow for Mass. In charge of the school were the Daughters of Our Lady of the Sacred Heart, who commuted each day from their convent at Daceyville.

Today, St Agnes’ is a school that embodies the OLSH charism of its founders by committing to our school’s values of love, care, respect and justice in both our words and actions. These values continue to underpin our vision for learning. Read More

In 1940, St Therese’s School began with Preparatory (Kindergarten) and First Class. Staffing the school were two Daughters of Our Lady of the Sacred Heart, who commuted daily from St Bernard’s Convent in Botany. St Therese’s school developed steadily as a parish primary school for girls from Kindergarten to Year 6 and boys to Year 3. St Therese’s continues as a parish primary school administered by Sydney Catholic Schools for boys and girls from Kindergarten to Year 6. St Therese’s is one of the largest inner-city primary schools in the Archdiocese. Read More

Norman Thomas Gilroy was born in Sydney on 22 January 1896. He attended Seminary at St Columba’s Springwood, and Propaganda Fide, in Rome. He was ordained a priest on 24 December 1923 at St John Lateran Basilica, Rome, by Cardinal Van Rossom. Thomas was Elected Bishop of Port Augusta on 10 December 1934 and consecrated on 17 March 1935 at St Mary’s Cathedral, by Archbishop Philip Bernardini. He was succeeded to the Archdiocese of Sydney on 8 March 1940 and created Cardinal on 18 February 1946. He resigned as Archbishop on 9 July 1971 and later died on 21 October 1977. Read More

The parish of St Thomas More’s Catholic Primary School Brighton-Le-Sands was proclaimed in November 1937 by Archbishop Kelly. The foundation stone for a new combined school and church was laid on the Feast of Christ the King, 30 October 1938, by Archbishop Norman T Gilroy. The building was completed in 1939 and the Sisters of Charity began conducting classes. Today, the school is a primary school for boys and girls in Kindergarten to Year 6. Read More

St Gabriel’s School and Church was blessed and opened on 29 January 1939. The school consisted of three large classrooms with folding doors that were opened on Sunday or when Mass was celebrated. This meant that each Friday, classroom doors were opened and classrooms were transformed into a church. This continued until 1940 when St Gabriel’s Parish Church was opened. St Gabriel’s School was first staffed by the Sisters of Charity from the Hurstville Convent. It was a small co-educational primary school, with about 100 pupils in its first few years. After Third Class, the boys left to attend nearby schools. Today, the school is a Kindergarten to Year 6 school for boys and girls. Read More

The parish priest of Eastwood, Fr J M Cusack, approached the Marist Brothers about establishing a boys school. When they agreed in 1936, the parish bought land in Hillview Road, Eastwood. A local chemist, Mr Elliott, financed the building of the first block of four classrooms, at a cost of $10,000. On opening day in 1937 there were 107 primary boys, beginning with Third Class. The first teachers were Brs Leopold Smith (Principal), Evan McDonough, Kenneth Harris and Loyola Sullivan. The present name, Marist College Eastwood, adopted in 1993, recognises this change as well as the intention to maintain the Marist ethos. Today Marist College Eastwood is a systemic school for boys from Years 7 to 12. The college emphasises its strong tradition of academic excellence in a climate of respect and care. Read More

De La Salle Catholic College Cronulla was established on 13 May 1936. The name of the property the Brothers purchased was “Kilkivan Grange” and the house on the property was opened for boarding students. The small school had both primary and secondary classes, and by 1940 presented its first pupils for the Leaving Certificate. Boarding ended in 1957. The college still remains a Year 11–12 school for boys and girls and plays an important role in the community by providing Catholic co-education for students who attend the two Catholic Year 7 to 10 feeder schools, De La Salle Caringbah (boys) and Our Lady of Mercy College Burraneer (girls).

These schools, along with their own Catholic primary feeder schools, ensure that families in the Eastern Sutherland Shire now have a clear pathway of high quality Catholic education. Read More

In 1935, the Sisters of Mercy (Parramatta Congregation) established Our Lady of Mercy College (OLMC) in a cottage at 6 Coast Avenue, Cronulla. The small boarding school continued until 1939, when it was temporarily closed down because it was perceived to be in a dangerous location with the outbreak of World War II. The school was re-opened by 1943 and was providing secondary education for girls, since there were no Catholic all girls secondary schools between Hurstville and Wollongong. Today the College continues to be guided by the legacy of the Mercy heritage and is enriched by the Mercy values of Excellence, Hospitality, Justice, Stewardship, Service, Compassion and Dignity. Read More

The parish priest and local community worked for the founding of a school at Cabramatta. They arranged for the Sisters of Charity to staff the school and help educate the children. The school bell rang for the first time on 2 February 1935, summoning 75 children from Kindergarten to Year 6. Sacred Heart Primary continues as a systemic school, co-educational from Kindergarten to Year 6. Today, the diverse community of more than forty cultures thrives under one roof in a contemporary learning environment with learning at its heart. Read More

St Anthony’s Marsfield was blessed and opened by Archbishop Bernardini on 24 June 1934. The parish priest arranged for the Sisters of Mercy (Parramatta Congregation) to staff the school. In 1984, the school celebrated its Golden Jubilee of 50 years. Two years later, the Daughters of Charity departed the school to focus on local community needs and the first lay principal was then appointed. St Anthony’s remains a co-educational primary school within the Archdiocesan system. Read More

Bethany College was founded in 1993 as a result of the amalgamation of two girls’ schools. St Mary’s Star of the Sea, Hurstville, which had been established by the Sisters of Charity in 1895, and St Joseph’s Girls’ High School, Kogarah, an old school which had been developed into a high school by the Sisters of St Joseph, who had come to Kogarah in 1914. Read More

St Jerome’s Punchbowl began in 1933 when Punchbowl was part of the parish of Bankstown. A church-school was built at Punchbowl in 1933, with the support of a local Catholic Committee, and this building served as the school until 1949. Fr Eris O’Brien, parish priest of Bankstown, arranged for the Sisters of St Joseph, who had a convent and school at Bankstown, to staff St Jerome’s. The first principal was Sr Grace Murphy, and the first term saw an average attendance of 129 primary school boys and girls. Today, St Jerome’s is a modern centre of learning which continues to operate within the Archdiocese of Sydney administered by Sydney Catholic Schools. Read More

Ashbury parish was established in 1929 by Fr Edward McMahon who asked the Ursuline Sisters to start a school. Led by Mother Veronica Purcell, St Francis Xavier Primary School Ashbury began on 4 February 1930. First day numbers are unknown, however, by 1931, 191 students were enrolled. The building where the school was located would turn into a church on the weekends. St Francis Xavier’s remains a systemic primary school and in 2020 celebrated 90 years of Catholic Education. In 2021, the school will also be celebrating 200 Years of Catholic Education in Australia. Read More

The Great Depression was the worst economic downturn the world has ever faced and lasted from 1929 to 1939. It began after the stock market crash on 29 October 1929, which sent Wall Street into a panic and wiped out millions of investors. Read More

In nearby Guildford, the Sisters of St Joseph had a community and school, and in 1928 two of these Josephites, Srs Flora and Fabian, travelled to Fairfield and began an infants and primary school in an old wooden building in the vicinity of 2 Weston Street. The school was a primary school for girls Kindergarten to Year 6, and boys Kindergarten to Year 3. In 2007, the CEO changed this and allowed the school to become co-educational from Kindergarten to Year 6. Read More

The school began as a church and a school in 1929 by the Sisters of Charity. During the week the building was a school and on weekends it was used as a church. The classes were for girls from Kindergarten to Year 6 and boys Kindergarten to Year 4. The current school is a single-stream co-educational school from Kindergarten to Year 6. The students come from a wide range of cultural backgrounds. Read More

St Finbar’s school opened in 1926 when Sans Souci was still part of the parish of Kogarah. The parish priest of Kogarah arranged for the Sisters of St Joseph to open this school. It was the second school which the parish had opened. In 1936, the Sisters of Mercy established a convent in Sans Souci and moved the school. Today, the school continues to teach Kindergarten through Year 6 students. Read More

St Therese’s school began in April 1926 when the church-school was opened at Lakemba. It was the first building in the Archdiocese to be dedicated to St Therese of Lisieux, the young French saint who had just been canonised in 1925. Fr D F Conaghan, parish priest of Belmore, arranged for the Sisters of St Joseph to staff the new school. The Josephites already had a convent and school in Belmore, and they travelled from there each day until they acquired a convent in Lakemba in 1928. The school was a co-educational primary school as it is to this day. Read More

Our Lady Queen of Peace Primary School Gladesville was founded by the Sisters of Mercy (Parramatta Congregation) in 1925. The school opened on 13 October 1925. It began as an infants and primary school, taking girls from Kindergarten to Sixth Class and boys from Kindergarten to Second Class. The first principal was Sr M Xavier McLenaghan. Today, the school is twinned with St Charles Ryde with an executive principal overseeing both schools. It is a single stream Kindergarten to Year 6 school. Read More

St Martha’s School began in 1925 in the old church of St Martha in Strathfield, which had been opened in 1905. Archbishop Michael Kelly asked the Dominican Sisters, who were already in Strathfield running Santa Sabina College, to staff the new school. Also promoting the development was the parish priest, Fr P Kerwick. In 1925 Sr Mary Benignus and Sr Ambrose began teaching the first pupils at St Martha’s – 28 girls and 11 boys. These were primary school students, and St Martha’s would always remain a primary school. Girls were taught from Kindergarten to Year 6 and boys were taught from Kindergarten to Year 3 (in recent decades to Year 4). St Martha’s remains a parish primary school within the Archdiocesan system. Read More

When the new parish of Holy Innocents’ Croydon was established in 1924, the first parish priest, Fr M P Tansey, arranged with the Sisters of Charity to found a parish school. In 1925 the school began, with Sr M Ludovic Mackel (Principal) and Sr M Dorothea Harding as the first teachers. The school opened in February with 55 students. In 1927 the Presentation Sisters took over the management of the school. Today the school builds upon and celebrates the rich traditions and charisms of both the Sisters of Charity and the Presentation Sisters. Read More

St Peter Chanel Catholic Primary School Regents Park was established by the Sisters of St Joseph in 1925 with an enrolment of 64 students. In 1989, the Josephite Sisters ended their leadership of the school and the Catholic Education Office appointed the first lay principal. In 1989, the school became co-educational from Kindergarten to Year 6. Today, the school is a vibrant and multicultural school with a student population of over 400. Read More

St Kevin’s School began in 1924 when the district was still part of the parish of Epping (Eastwood parish was to be established in 1929). The parish priest of Epping, Fr W Stevens, arranged for the Sisters of Mercy (Parramatta Congregation) to staff the school. The school’s first foundation stone was laid on 30 August 1925 by Archbishop Michael Kelly. In 1976 the first lay principal was appointed with the charism and traditions remaining strong as well as the great sense of community. Read More

St Patrick’s Catholic Primary School Sutherland is a primary school that caters for students from Kindergarten to Year 6. The school was founded by the Sisters of Mercy in 1924 with 26 enrolments and entrusted to the Sisters of the Presentation of the Blessed Virgin Mary in 1950. In 1954, the sisters began the secondary school on the same site until Mary Immaculate College construction began in 1959. Today, parents and students participate in a variety of social justice initiatives as a practical way to live out Nano Nagle’s Motto. Read More

St Ambrose School began in 1924 as the third Catholic school within the parish of Concord. The Sisters of Charity were already conducting schools at Concord and Mortlake, and so it was natural that the parish priest, Fr T Barlow, invited them to staff the new school at Concord West. Two Sisters began teaching the small primary school in the parish hall. Classes for girls were offered from Kindergarten to Sixth Class and for boys from Kindergarten to Third Class, although the majority of boys moved to a Brothers’ school for Third Class. Ambrose remains a systemic parish school, co-educational from Kindergarten to Year 6. Read More

The story of ‘Marcellin’ began in 1921 with a visit to Randwick by Archbishop Kelly. The Missionaries of the Sacred Heart then asked the Marist Brothers to found the school. Land became available on 4 November 1922 and the most Reverend Dr Sheehan laid the first stone on the new school site. Consequently, Marist Brothers’ School, Randwick opened on 29 January 1923, under the care of Brothers Walstan (Principal), Alphonsus and Aquinas. Today, the College was the first school accredited to provide the Newman Selective Gifted Education Program, offering enrichment opportunities to gifted students and a diverse learning program providing support for students with specific learning needs. Read More

Our Lady of Lourdes Catholic Primary School Earlwood was established in 1923 by the North Sydney Sisters of Mercy. The first school was opened in the garage of Mrs Hocking’s house, under the leadership of Sr Francesca Cleary, with 23 children enrolled in February. The current school building situated on St James Avenue, was blessed and opened in 1926 by His Grace the Most Reverend Michael Kelly D.D. Archbishop of Sydney. Up until 1986, Our Lady of Lourdes was under the leadership of the Sisters of Mercy with 18 Sisters undertaking the role of school principal over the 63 year period. In 1987, we saw the first lay principal appointed to the school. Over the years, the school has enjoyed building developments and refurbishments creating what is today a very contemporary and well-resourced primary school. Read More

Opened on 13 May 1923, St Brigid’s Catholic Primary School Coogee was administered by the Brigidine Sisters from Randwick with Sr Paul King as principal. At first, it was a primary school for girls up to Sixth Class and for boys to Second Class, with older boys attending Marist Brothers’ at Randwick or later De La Salle School Coogee. Today the school remains a Kindergarten to Year 6 school for boys and girls. Read More

In the 1920’s, Flemington was part of a developing area of Sydney. The priest at Strathfield decided to build a church hall in Flemington. He arranged for a school to be run there by the Sisters of St Joseph. The school was then opened in 1923 by the Sisters of St Joseph. By the 1930’s there were 130 children, girls from Kindergarten to Year 6 and boys from Kindergarten to Year 4. Since 2002, there was a significant decrease in enrolment numbers. With predictions of declining numbers it was decided to close the school in 2006.

St Michael’s Catholic Primary School Meadowbank opened in 1922 under the leadership of two Sisters of Mercy (Parramatta Congregation) and the parish priest, Fr Gell. In the early days classes were held in the church, which was built the year before, requiring classrooms to be packed up on the Friday ready for Sunday Mass. Over the next 100 years, various building projects funded by the parish and government were undertaken. In 1995, the Sisters of Mercy announced that they were withdrawing from the leadership of St Michael’s and from 1996 onwards, the school has been led by lay principals. Read More

St Joseph’s Catholic Primary School Belmore was established by the Sisters of St Joseph in 1921 and is located in the Canterbury Council district in the Inner West region of Sydney. The Josephites cared for the school community until 1985, when the first lay principal was appointed.

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In the 1920s St Michael’s and St Mary’s Star of the Sea schools were amalgamated under one administration. In the late 1960’s, a separate administration was introduced for the primary and secondary sections of the school and in 1933 the secondary school changed its name to Bethany College.

The school began on 19 January 1919 in a house in Abbotsford. The Presentation Sisters (Wagga Wagga Congregation), taught the children from their convent at Five Dock, ‘Domremy’. In 1986, the school was rebuilt on the current site in Five Dock and the final stage was completed in 1994. Read More

St Aloysius was founded by St Mary MacKillop’s order of nuns, the Josephites, in 1918 and entrusted to the Mercy Sisters only a few years later. The school is now a systemic Catholic school, co-educational from Kindergarten to Year 6. Through our faithfulness to the spirit of Catherine McAuley’s vision, St Aloysius works to provide a Catholic education which enables the formation of the whole person imbued with the Mercy values which are championed by each grade every year. Read More

St Anthony’s opened on 28 January 1918. The school was staffed by the Sisters of St Joseph. It opened as a primary and secondary school with only 45 students. St Anthony’s became solely a primary school in 1963. Today the three unique charisms of the Sisters of St Joseph, the Presentation Sisters and the Michaelite Fathers are remembered and celebrated through history, prayer and liturgy. Read More

St Joseph’s Enfield opened in mid-1917 in Fr Considine’s hall. The school was staffed by the Sisters of St Joseph. In 1979 the Sisters of St Joseph withdrew from the school and in 1980 De La Salle Brothers took over the management of the school. In 1989 the De La Sall Brothers withdrew from the school and St Joseph’s became a fully systemic school of the Sydney Catholic Education Office. The first lay principal of the school was appointed in 1991. Read More

With a Catholic high school for girls close by and established in the growing suburb of Ashfield since 1881, a Catholic boys’ school had long been desired. The Vincentian Fathers had charge of the parish, and by 1916, the new parish priest, Fr Paul Cullen, had persuaded the De La Salle Brothers to open a boys school, providing them with a building with three classrooms. The foundation stone was laid in 1917, and with World War I grinding on, De La Salle Brothers’ School Ashfield was opened to 60 primary pupils (Third Class to Sixth Class) and three Brothers. Br Benignus Patrick was the first principal. Now, the school is a Year 7–12 campus. Read More

North Sydney parish was established in 1856 and came under the care of the Jesuit Fathers from 1880. Early Catholic schools in the area were in the care of lay teachers, but with the withdrawal of government funds in the 1880’s Religious Orders were called on to run schools. The Marist Brothers established a boys school beside St Mary’s Church in Ridge Street in 1888. When they moved to Manresa Hall in Carlow Street in 1916, the Sisters of St Joseph moved into the small two-roomed building in Ridge Street and there began the present St Mary’s School in the same year. This school became the Demonstration School for the Josephite Training College. With Sr Mary Donatus Egan as first principal, the early Sisters travelled each day from their headquarters in Mount Street. The school has now combined with Marist North Shore to create a Kindergarten to 12 school.

Long Bay Catholic School began in 1915, when the area was mainly sand dunes and marshland and the population was small. It was part of the parish of Maroubra. The priest asked the Daughters of Our Lady of the Sacred Heart to establish and staff the school. The school opened on Monday 3 May 1915 with 17 pupils in Dudley’s Hall. Today, St Andrews has almost 400 students and “Our Little School on the Hill” has greatly expanded. Read More

The school began in 1915, just a year after the parish was established. The Brigidine Sisters staffed the school with Sr Paul King as first principal. The Sisters would travel from Randwick to the school to educate the children. The school was a primary school for boys and girls, which then turned into a secondary school for girls, and is now back to a primary school for boys and girls. Read More