St Anthony of Padua Catholic College Austral officially opened by Catholic Archbishop of Sydney
One of southwest Sydney’s newest schools has officially opened near the future Western Sydney International Airport, with population growth driving up demand for schools.
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One of southwest Sydney’s newest schools has officially opened, with hopes it will cater for the growing population in Austral and surrounding suburbs near the future Western Sydney Airport.
Students, parents and teachers at St Anthony of Padua Catholic College, Austral celebrated the historic occasion on Friday, with Catholic Archbishop of Sydney Anthony Fisher visiting classrooms to officially open and bless the school.
The college opened its doors in 2017 to students in kindergarten to Year 2.
Next year the school will take enrolments for Year 3 students and in 2021 it will welcome its first cohort of Year 7 students.
Principal Lea De Angelis said the school had grown significantly in three years.
“The population growth in this area has been quite amazing. We started in 2017 with 42 students in kindergarten and next year for 2020, we have over 100 students for kindergarten,” she said.
“Most of the families moving into this area have young children, so the need for schools is a significant one that we are hoping to be able to assist in managing that demand.”
The campus sits on a 15.3ha site with three buildings completed and more to come. By 2026, the college will cater for preschool through to Year 12.
Archbishop Fisher said its growth so far was a testament to “many people’s dreams and contributions”.
“St Anthony of Padua College is the miracle of Austral as we look for new and better ways of serving our communities.”
“It will aim to offer specialist facilities and teachers, a rigorous curriculum and personalised learning.”
Sydney Catholic Schools executive director Tony Farley said the college would support students with their future ambitions.
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“This area is going to have an airport and your child may want to be a builder, a carpenter, a plumber, a nurse or a teacher. They may want to open a shop or get involved in robotics. There are all sorts of career paths your children may want to pursue and we have to work with them to guide them along that path,” he said.
The Federal Government has contributed $1.5 million to the next stage of construction for Years 3-5 facilities.
Ms De Angelis said it was a “chance in a lifetime as an educator” to establish a new community “from the ground up”.
“I think we’ve got something very special happening here and I think it’s something that will continue to have a great impact on our community here.”