St. Philip's Christian College
| St. Philips Christian College | |
|---|---|
 High Street entrance, Waratah Campus | |
| Location | |
|
Waratah, New South Wales Australia  | |
| Information | |
| Type | Independent, Co-educational, Day school |
| Motto | "Leaders in Whole of Life Education" |
| Denomination | Christian, Multi-denominational |
| Established | 1982 |
| Staff | 150+ |
| Key people |
Graeme Irwin (Executive Principal) Pam O'Dea (Principal) |
| Colour(s) | Gold, Olive, White & Black |
| Website | www.spcc.nsw.edu.au |
St. Philip's Christian College is an independent co-educational Christian school in Newcastle, New South Wales. The Newcastle campus is based in the suburb of Waratah, but the school encompasses five other campuses, including one at Port Stephens, one at Cessnock (formerly Cessnock Christian College), a campus in Waratah which houses the DALE (Dynamic Alternative Learning Environment) program for students who struggle with their schooling, and a Young Mother's program as well as a relatively new campus at Gosford, New South Wales. The Gosford campus used to be known as Gosford Christian school and was taken over in 2008 by St Philips. The college is the largest independent school in the Hunter region. In 2001, the school received A$3.76m in federal taxpayer's grants.
History
The school was founded in 1982 by St Philip's Anglican Church Waratah, with the aim of 'whole child' education - intellectual, social, physical and spiritual. The school's motto of "The Way, The Truth, and The Life" is striven to be upheld in daily life. Classes commenced on 4 February 1982 in renovated areas within the St Philip's Church facilities. The College catered for students from Kindergarten to Year 7 during 1982. Each year thereafter, another academic year was added up to Year 10 in 1985. Year 11 classes commenced in 1988 with the first H.S.C. candidates being presented in 1989. As of 2012, the College had over 2900 students enrolled from Kindergarten to Year Twelve.
Up until 1984, the College operated entirely at the church site. During 1984 a site in High Street was purchased and occupied. Sparke House became the administration centre for the College with temporary transportable classrooms being used initially. Since then steady development has been made to facilities. St Philip's has a new 500 seat theatre on site and has recently purchased the old St Philip's Anglican church site. This site has been refurbished to be the centre of sports education.
Initially, the College was operated as an undertaking of St. Philip’s Christian College. However, in May 1985, St. Philip’s Christian Education Foundation Limited was formed and this non-profit company took over the ownership and operation of the College became independent.
In 1995 a new campus of the College was established at Salamander Bay. This campus now has an enrollment of over 700 students from Kinder to Year Twelve.
In 1997, an alternative school for students at risk (Years 7-10) named D.A.L.E. (Dynamic Alternate Learning Environment) was established with the aim of encouraging students in danger of dropping out of school to gain their School Certificate. In 2000 a unit for young mothers complete with crèche facilities and specialised support was added.
In October 1997 the College acquired Narnia Christian PreSchool. Narnia is a one unit preschool for children from three years old to school age. Recent developments have will see a newly expanded facility at 55 High Street Waratah that will cater for babies to school age children.
In 2001, the Waratah campus was restructured into a Junior School (K-4), Middle School (5-8) and Senior School (9-12).
In 2005, the college acquired Cessnock Christian School which was renamed to St. Philip's Christian College - Cessnock Campus. The Cessnock school now has over 1000 students and is situated on a 100-acre site at Nulkaba near the vineyards.
In 2012, the Waratah Campus commenced its 30th anniversary and had over 1000 students in that one campus. Additionally, St. Philip's Christian College acquired Gosford Christian College and renamed it St. Philip's Christian College - Gosford Campus.
The College is a member of the NSW Association of Independent Schools, the Australian Association of Christian Schools and the Association of Christian Schools International.