The decision follows a long and fruitless search for a
suitable site close to Redfern’s indigenous population.
St Andrew’s Cathedral School head Phillip Heath, who came up
with the idea for the new school in an effort to help turn around education
standards among indigenous children, has faced plenty of criticism of the plan.
But he said the intention of the Gawura campus was to be
inclusive rather than divisive.
“In an apartheid system the children are kept
completely apart but this school encourages them to get as involved as they
possibly can, especially in cultural activities,” he said. The new CBD
school will have a focus on Aboriginal language and culture as well as numeracy
and literacy and students will be sponsored by members of the community, World
Vision-style.
“People ask why am I separating the children from the
white children,” Mr Heath said.
“That is now held in sharper relief because it will be
within the [existing] school. We are just going to look at it and see how it
works”
The opening comes almost a year after The Sun-Herald
revealed St Andrew’s Cathedral
School’s plans for the
new school.
Mr Heath said the school had not wanted to lose momentum
despite the inability to find a suitable site closer to the students’ homes.
“We are going to establish a type of school within a school. We have set
aside a former lecture room on the rooftop at St Andrews House.
“We are spending $45,000 upgrading that and turning it
into a space appropriate for the Aboriginal children,” he said.
A U-shaped area of about 125square metres has been dedicated
to the school. “It will have a separation of work space and activity
space,” Mr Heath said.
Gawura pupils will share recess and lunchtimes with the
other students at the school and in the afternoons they will participate in the
wider school program, taking part in subjects such as music or sport.
The new pupils will wear St Andrew’s uniforms and be
transported to the school in a bus provided by the City of Sydney council.
College opportunities
St Joseph’s
College, a private Catholic school for boys at Hunters Hill, has been a leader
in fostering education opportunities for indigenous students.
The Marist Brothers school has an indigenous foundation that
provides scholarships for boys from the country and city. Among those to
benefit from the scheme is rising rugby union star Kurtley Beale, the Waratahs
five-eighth who completed his HSC at St
Joseph’s last year.
Most private schools offer opportunities to Aboriginal
pupils.
Source: The Sun-Herald