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This week marks a significant milestone in the school’s history. 40 years ago, on the 9th of February 1984, William Carey Christian School conducted its first day of lessons.
The history of the school precedes this into the early 1970s when local parents began meeting and planning for a Christian school to serve the communities of Liverpool and Campbelltown.
The school finally opened for lessons on 9th February 1984, with only four students enrolled. The first location for the school was at the Reformed Church in Kennedy Street, Liverpool. For the first 5 years, lessons were held at a series of different church properties to meet the growing needs of the school. However, finding a suitable site for the school became a race against time as each year saw additional classes being added and church halls were no longer a suitable solution
The search for suitable land had been underway since the school vision was first conceived. Once the current Prestons site was found and purchased, the first buildings commenced construction in 1988. Teachers and students commenced classes at the present site on the 10th of October 1988. Previously, the site was a chicken farm and a feature of these early days was the smell with lots of flies, even though the chickens were no longer present.
The establishment of the school at a permanent site, which the school owned, and the significant increase in student numbers, laid the foundation for further growth and the establishment of the High School in 1990. In 1994 the school celebrated the graduation of the first Year 12 cohort.
Principal Mr Keith McMullen reflects,
“Over the past 40 years, our school has undergone immense change, as has the community it serves. While the school was originally surrounded by farmland and bush, now, housing dominates the skyline. From 4 students, our student population has grown to over 1300 students from our youngest learners in the Prep School through to school leavers in Year 12.
I am thankful to God and to the students, families and staff who, over the last 40 years, have created a school community where lives are transformed in response to hearing the gospel of Jesus proclaimed, and through the delivery of an excellent Christian education. I look forward to how the school will continue to develop in the years to come as we “Expect great things from God and attempt great things for God.”
