History:
Originally the present parish of St Andrew’s belonged to St Peter’s, Clayton. Numbers at St Peter’s indicated the need for another school to be build on the land owned by the Clayton Parish, located in Bunney Road, South Clayton. St Andrew’s School opened in 1981, with an enrolment of 191 students. On 25 September 1982, St Andrew’s, South Clayton, became a parish in its own right. Over the past 16 years St Andrew’s Parish and School have experienced much growth. At present the school population is close to 580 students, representing approximately 60 nationalities. The Brigidine Sisters have been involved in the school since it first opened.
Description:
St Andrew’s School is a faith community. It is a place where gospel values and the teachings of Christ’s Church are reflected in its policies, its structures and the relationships of its members. At St Andrew’s we aim to integrate areas of secular learning with faith, knowledge and experience. We seek to develop the whole person of the child in an environment where gospel values are lived and become a norm for school policy decisions. The staff of St Andrew’s have implemented an integrated language experience program. This method involves developing a topic in each grade through team teaching, small-group activities leading to child-centred investigations, and excursions.
Features:
Due to the highly multicultural nature of St Andrew’s, a main focus is the English as a Second Language program, and languages other than English taught to the children include Italian, French and Arabic. In the area of pastoral care the school has the Rainbows and Prism programs operating. The school is part of the parish and works in very closely with the parish community.