Schools

by Cathy Jones (2001, updated 2026)

Strathfield is known for its many schools.  This is a timeline featuring the opening dates of local schools.

1847

The earliest school in the local district was the Adelaide Park Free School built in 1847 by Thomas Hyndes, an ex-convict. He initially built a stone hall which was used as a small free school during the week and as a place of worship on Sundays. Hyndes set aside five acres of his land for a church, which became St Thomas’ Anglican Church in Enfield, which was built in 1849.  The loss of government subsidies led to the closure of the school in 1893.  The old hall was demolished and replaced by a new hall in 1924.  The original foundation stone was relaid in the new hall.

1881

The Druitt Town Public School opened on Homebush Road and Liverpool Road, Strathfield South.  The school was renamed Strathfield South Public School in 1893.  It was located on the southern boundary of the Redmire Estate, which commenced residential development in the late 1860s. In 1893, with the phasing out of Druitt Town as a place name, the school was renamed Strathfield South Public School, despite Strathfield Council’s advocating to the NSW Government to name the school Strathfield Public School.

1885

Initially local children in Homebush attended school at Burwood Public School, which opened in 1871, but after much lobbying by residents for a local school, Homebush Public School opened in Rochester Street in 1885, near the Homebush railway station.

Late 19th century 

Small private schools operated from homes in the Strathfield district from the 1880s.  These independent schools provided education for the children of the wealthier residents.  Many were operated by educated and socially connected women, often widows, such as Mrs Mary Hardie, widow of Rev. Walter Hardie, who operated ‘Wavertree’ Ladies School, 103 The Boulevarde, Strathfield and Mrs Clarissa Ford, widow of Frederick Ford, partner of David Jones & Co, who operated the ‘Compton’ school, Albyn Road Strathfield.

The Newnham High School and Kindergarten in Redmyre Road Strathfield was operated by Miss L. Ellis.  She advertised in 1890 that she was ‘certificated of Cambridge University’ and the school offered French language, gymnastics training and the ‘greatest care is taken to maintain a high tone amongst the girls; a governess accompanies those who live along the line’

1888

Eton College was opened by Dr Joseph David Sly for both day and resident students.  Eton College was located in Redmyre Road Strathfield (then known as Homebush) but closed due to financial problems in 1892.  Dr Sly attributed the failure to economic conditions of the time.

1894

Santa Sabina College was opened by the Dominican Sisters on The Boulevarde Strathfield in 1894 in the Rosary Lodge (formerly Lindeman Lodge) building.  Santa Sabina College was originally established as a day and boarding school for girls. In 1949, a primary school was established at ‘Del Monte’.  This building had formerly been a Victorian mansion (‘Brunyarra’) and later a function centre called ‘Del Monte’.  The school was renamed ‘Santa Maria Del Monte’, the primary school of Santa Sabina College.

1895

Homebush Grammar School operated from 1895-1914 from premises in Albert Road Strathfield.  The Principal of the School was William Bruce Scott (formerly of Elton College) and from 1908, William A Duncan. In its later years, the school moved to Liverpool Rd.

1897

Mrs Jane Monckton established a school in her home in Agnes Street Strathfield.  The school moved to Woodward Avenue in 1907 and in the following year was sold to Miss Turner who established it as the Meriden Private School for Girls.  It was subsequently moved to a site on The Boulevarde and then to its current site on Redmyre Road Strathfield.  In 1926 Miss Turner returned to England and the school was purchased by a group of Strathfield citizens.  The school was expanded in 1914 with the purchase of the house ‘The Briars’. In 1929, it was taken over by the Church of England. In 1936, additions were made to the school with the erection of Wallis Hall, incorporating the Briars building.  In 1961, the school acquired ‘Selbourne’, an Edwardian style mansion facing Redmyre Road.  ‘Selbourne’ was demolished in 1978 for sportsgrounds.  The school has continued to expand through acquisition of additional properties on Margaret Street, Redmyre Road and Vernon Street.

1912

Flemington Public School opened.  In 1947, the named of the school was changed to Homebush West Public School.

1917

The former home of Sir Philip Sydney Jones ‘Llandilo’, The Boulevarde Strathfield was purchased in 1917 by the Reverend F Wheaton, a Congregational Minister, to house Strathfield Grammar School, which was formerly located in Albert Road Strathfield. In 1926, the school campus was sold to Trinity Grammar School, whose main campus is located in Summer Hill.  The former private houses ‘Somerset’ (built 1923 for solicitor James Larcombe) and ‘Milverton’ (built 1915 for solicitor George Turner) have since been added to the school.  In 1938, the school became the Trinity Grammar Preparatory School and now includes primary education from Kindergarten to Year 6.

1923

From 1923 to 1944, the house ‘Waratah’ 37 Homebush Road Strathfield operated as a school ‘Branxton’ by the Misses Thompsons.  The school was later transferred to the Presbyterian Ladies College (PLC) Croydon who maintained a campus at Margaret Street Strathfield until the late 1990s.  This is now operating as ‘Lingwood’ Meriden College.

1925

Following the building of the new St Martha’s Catholic Church in 1924 (also named the Monsignor Peter Byrne Memorial Church), Archbishop Kelly urged the parish to convert the first St Martha’s Church building into a school. On 2 February 1925, the Dominican Sisters opened St Martha’s Catholic Primary School.  By 1932, St Martha’s had 132 students.  In 1941, a new school building facing Churchill Avenue was built on the site of the former house ‘Glencairn’, the home of the Kenna family who donated the house to the Church.  The school has continued to expand through acquisition of adjoining properties.

References: Gleeson, Damien (2010) Faith, Hospitality and Service, p30

1928

The Congregation of Christian Brothers founded St Patrick’s College, Edgar Street Strathfield, which opened in January 1928. The school was established on land adjoining the Christian Brothers’ ‘Mount St Mary’ Training College (which is now the Australian Catholic University). The decision to open the school in an area of Strathfield that was still semi‑rural in the late 1920s was much criticised, however Brother P I Hickey, Provincial persisted and engaged architects Hennessey & Hennessey to design the new school building.  This building is known as the Brother Hickey building and is a heritage item on Strathfield’s LEP.   Author Thomas Kenneally wrote in his memoir Homebush Boy ‘The Christian Brothers, like the best generals, preferred hills and St Patricks was strung out on one flank of a hill they called Mount Saint Mary. To me the line of school buildings seemed in some ways the defence against the haze of ennui which hung over the pleasant gardens, the brick bungalows in the Federation-style meekness of the suburb of Strathfield’.

By the end of the first year of operation, the school had more than 100 students.  In the intervening years, St Patricks College has grown into a large independent Catholic boys’ school catering for Years 5 to 12, with enrolments of over 1,400 students and attracts students across the Sydney region

References: McGlade, James (1999) All our Yesterdays, pps 5-6 and History (2026), St Patricks College Strathfield viewed at https://www.spc.nsw.edu.au/about/history/

1936

Homebush Boys High opened.  As reported in the Sydney Morning Herald 4 August 1936 “The new Boys’ Junior High School,’ fronting Bridge-road, Homebush, to be opened next Monday, will accommodate about 1000 boys of post-primary standard, who will be transferred from the Petersham and Summer Hill schools where there are 28 classrooms and two science rooms.  A main assembly room 80ft x 40ft is complete with a stage and dressing rooms.  The building is two-storied and of imposing appearance and cost about £25 000.  It was elected on an old estate of 5 ¼ acres and many of its ornamental trees and shrubs have been left standing in the grounds.  Adequate provision has also been made for proper drainage of the grounds”.

The school was officially opened by the Minister for Education Mr D H Drummond on 4 May 1937.  The school was originally known as ‘Western Suburbs Boys High School’, then Homebush Junior High School and from 1944, it was named Homebush Boys High.

1949

The Dominican Sisters established a primary school at ‘Del Monte’ The Boulevarde Strathfield, which was renamed ‘Santa Maria Del Monte’, the primary school of Santa Sabina College.

1953

Strathfield Girls High opened as a single sex secondary comprehensive school for girls on Albert Road Strathfield.  The school’s origins were the Homebush Intermediate High School which opened in 1926 and operated from the Homebush Public School site, Rochester Street Homebush. The girls’ division required a larger campus, due to increasing demand.  In 1953 Strathfield Girls High School was opened as a single sex secondary comprehensive school for girls on Albert Road Strathfield.  The school was built on the site on which the homes ‘Milroy’ and ‘Elwood House’, Albert Road Strathfield had been located. These houses were demolished in 1929 with the intention of developing a new estate called ‘Milroy Gardens’, however only seven houses of the subdivision were ever built.  The majority of the land was acquired by the NSW Minister for Public Instruction to build a new school.  However, until 1954 when Strathfield Girls High was finally built, the land was used as a public park known as ‘Milroy Park’.  During WWII, the land was leased by the Australian Army for training purposes and after the War, part of the land was laid out as a cricket oval.

Sydney Adventist College in Albert Road Strathfield opened. It was reported in the Sydney Morning Herald on 12 January 1952 “The educational director of the Seventh Day Adventist Church, Pastor A. W. Peterson, said yesterday that it was not the duty of the State to teach religion. ”That can be done only in the Church school’, he said. Pastor Peterson was speaking at the opening of the new Sydney Seventh Day Adventist High School at Albert Road, Strathfield. The school was officially opened by Dr. L. J. Parr, M.L.A. for Burwood. It cost £35,000 and has room for 200 boys and girls”.

Chalmers Road Public School

In 1954, the Department of Education acquired ‘Arnottholme’ 65 Albert Road Strathfield  for the purposes of establishing a public special needs school.  In the 1970s, a purpose built school was built in Chalmers Road Strathfield and the school moved to its new premises.

In 1954, the house was sold to the NSW Department of Education for £12,000 for the purposes of establishing a school for children with disabilities.  The school was later transferred to a new site in Chalmers Road Strathfield.  The property was occupied by the Department of Education as a TAFE Campus until its sale to a private owner in 2022.

1957

St Anne’s Catholic Primary School opened in 1957 at St Anne’s Square, Strathfield South.

1960

The western areas of Strathfield remained sparsely populated until after World War II, when demand for housing sparked significant building and population growth.  To meet the increasing needs for high schools, the NSW Government resumed part of the former Northcote Golf Course on Liverpool Road and Hedges Avenue to build Strathfield South High, a co-ed school, which opened in 1960.

1992

Australian Catholic University was established in Strathfield.  The university operates on the site which was formerly the  ‘Mount St Marys’ Christian Brothers Centre and later the Catholic College of Education.

The Christian Brothers Training College was established in Strathfield on the site of the former ‘Mount Royal’, which was renamed ‘Mount St Marys’.  From 1992, the site became the Australian Catholic University.  The Christian Brothers established a boys school in Burwood 1909 which initially was a primary school but in 1917 was registered as a secondary school.  The Brothers also opened St Patricks College on the northern side of the ‘Mount St Marys’ site in 1928.

2012

Sydney Adventist College, Albert Road Strathfield, closes.

2014

Marie Bashir Public School opened.  This primary school operates from the site of the former Sydney Adventist College, which was acquired by the NSW Government.  The school is named after former NSW Governor, Marie Bashir.

2015

Our Lady of the Assumption Catholic Primary School opened.  The primary school is located on George Street Homebush and is the parish school of Our Lady of the Assumption in Underwood Road Homebush which opened in 1953.