Schools in the ACT

School Photo of Kindy class

Information on early schools in the region that was to become the ACT, is from the Hall School Museum's research into early Capital Territory Government Schools and published in its database, launched in October 2013. We have linked to the database for further information.

Information on schools in Canberra and the ACT was provided by the ACT Department of Education and Training in 2003 and from “75 years of Catholic Education in Canberra”, supplement to The Canberra Times, 5 March 2003.

Further information on each school may be available on the ACT Department of Education and Training’s website.

Table 1: Opening Dates of Government Primary Schools

Table 2: Opening Dates of Government High Schools

Table 3: Opening Dates of Government Secondary Colleges

Table 4: Opening Dates of Government Special Schools

Table 5: Opening Dates of Catholic Schools

Table 6: Opening Dates of Non-Government, Non-Catholic Schools

Table 1: Opening dates of Government Primary Schools
School	Open date	Closing/amalgamation date
Ainslie	1927
Aranda	1969
Arawang	1989
Barnes Creek, NSW	1899	1902
Bonython	1992
Bobeyan (Tin Dish), NSW	1907	1910
Calwell	1989
Campbell	1961
Canberra	1880	1913
Chapman	1975
Charles Conder	1994
Charnwood	1975
Chifley	1966	1989 closed and reopened as Melrose
Chisholm	1986
Church Rock Valley	1898	1904
Cook	1969
Co-operative	1978
Cotter River	1914	1917
Curtin	1983
Downer	1962	1989
Duffy	1973
Duntroon	1914	1971
Evatt	1974
Fadden	1985
Farrer	1970
Fisher	1972	1989
Florey	1989
Flynn	1974	2006
Forrest	1958
Fraser	1979
Garran	1967
Gibraltar	1886	1942
Gilmore	1983
Ginninderra	1873	1910
Giralang	1977
Gold Creek	1996
Gordon	1993
Gowrie	1983
Griffith	1955	1995
Gungahleen	1888	1923
Hackett	1964
Hall	1911	2006
Hartley Street	1971
Hawker	1976
Higgins	1971
Holder	1972	1991
Holt	1973
Hughes	1964
Isabella Plains	1988
Kaleen	1976
Kowen	1875	1913
Latham	1972
Lyneham	1959
Lyons	1966
Macgregor	1968
Macquarie	1968
Majura	1874	1930
Majura	1989
Malcolm Vale	1892	1903
Maribyrnong	1979
Mawson	1968
Melba	1973	Renamed Mt Rogers Community School 1998
Melrose	1989	2006
Miles Franklin	1980
Molonglo	1922	1942
Monash	1982
Mt Neighbour	1975	2006
Mt Rogers Community School	1998
Mulligans Flat	1896	1931
Naas	1886	1924
Narrabundah (Crossroads)	1894	1923
Narrabundah	1952
Nerrabundah (Long Gully)	1886	1900
Ngunnawal	1997
North Ainslie	1958
North Curtin	1966	1983 North Curtin renamed Curtin
Page	1970	1989
Palmerston	1995
Pearce	1967	1989
Red Hill	1960
Richardson	1984
Rivett	1972	2006
Royalla	1879	1935
Russell Hill	1927	1930
Scullin	1970	1989
South Curtin	1965	1983
Southern Cross	1989
Spence	1977
Stone Hut	1873	1888
Taylor	1978
Telopea Park	1923
Tharwa	1899	2006
Theodore	1991
Thornhurst	1886	1902
Torrens	1968
Tuggeranong	1870	1940
Turner	1953
Upper Naas	1911	1924
Urambi	1976
Uriarra	1897	2001
Village Creek	1975
Wanniassa	1976
Wanniassa Hills	1978
Waramanga	1970	1989 reopened as Arawang
Watson	1964	1989 and reopened as Majura
Weetangera	1973
Weston	1971	2006
Williamsdale	1871	1949
Yarralumla (Bulgar Creek)	1878	1914
Yarralumla	1956
Yarrowlumla	1850	1855

Table 2: Opening dates of Government High Schools
School	Open date	Closing/amalgamation date
Alternative Education Program	1998
Alfred Deakin	1989
Belconnen	1971
Calwell	1990
Campbell	1965
Canberra	1938	Relocated from North Canberra in 1969
Canberra High	1938	Relocated to Belconnen in 1969
Caroline Chisholm	1985
Charnwood	1981	1996
Deakin	1966	Renamed Alfred Deakin High School after amalgamation with Woden Valley High School 1989
Dickson High	1962	Dickson Secondary College in 1976
Ginninderra	1974	2005
Gold Creek	1998
Holder	1975	Amalgamated with Weston Creek in 1991 to become Stromlo High School. Holder campus closed in 1993.
Kaleen	1978
Kambah	1976
Lanyon	1996
Lyneham	1959
Melba	1976
Melrose	1970
Narrabundah High	1961	Narrabundah Secondary College in 1976
Secondary IEC		at Dickson College
School Without Walls	1974	1997
Southside Alternative Education Program	1998
Stromlo High School	1991
Telopea Park	1984	(primary students from 1923)
Wanniassa	1981
Watson	1965	1988
Weston Creek	1972	Become Stromlo High School in 1991
Woden Valley	1968	1989

Table 3: Opening dates of Government Secondary Colleges
College	Open date	Closing/amalgamation date
Canberra College	1997	Formed from the amalgamation of Phillip and Stirling Colleges
Copland	1978
Dickson College	1976	Prior to 1976 Dickson High School
Erindale	1981
Hawker	1976
Lake Ginninderra	1987
Lake Tuggeranong	1990
Narrabundah	1976	Narrabundah College was Narrabundah High School prior to 1976
Phillip	1976	Amalgamated with Stirling College in 1997 to form Canberra College – Phillip campus
Schools Without Walls	1974	Also has high school enrolments
Stirling	1977	Amalgamated with Phillip College in 1997 to form Canberra College – Weston campus

Table 4: Opening dates of Government Special Schools
School	Open date	Closing/amalgamation date
Cranleigh	1974
Hartley Street	1971	Hartley Street is administratively attached to Turner Primary School.
Black Mountain School	1954	Known as Koomari prior to 2003
Malkara	1970
Woden School	1974

Table 5: Opening dates of Catholic schools
School	Suburb	Open date	Close/amalgamation date
St Christopher’s School	Manuka	1928	1971
Our Lady of Mercy Primary School (also known as St Mary’s Primary School)	Braddon	1935	1973
St Edmund’s College	Griffith	1954
St Benedict’s Primary	Narrabundah	1955
St Jospeph’s Primary	O’Connor	1956
St Peter Chanel’s Primary School	Yarralumla	1956	1989
Merici College, formely Catholic Girls High School, Braddon	Braddon	1959
St Thomas More’s Primary	Campbell	1960
St Brigid’s Primary	Dickson	1960	1986
St Michael’s Primary	Lyneham	1961	1973
Daramalan College (Secondary)	Dickson	1962
Daramalan College (Primary)	Dickson	1962	1996
St Bede’s Primary	Red Hill	1963
Rosary Primary	Watson	1963
St Clare’s College, formerly Catholic Girls’ High School, Griffith	Griffith	1965
Holy Trinity Primary	Curtin	1966
Sts Peter and Paul Primary	Garran	1967
Marist College	Pearce	1968
St Vincent’s Primary	Aranda	1970
Sacred Heart Primary	Pearce	1970
St John Vianney’s Primary	Waramanga	1971
St Matthew’s Primary	Page	1972
St Thomas Aquinas Primary	Charnwood	1975
St Jude’s Primary	Holder	1975
St Thomas the Apostle Primary	Kambah	1977
St Monica’s Primary	Evatt	1977
St Francis Xavier College	Florey	1976
Padua Catholic High (became the junior campus of Mackillop Catholic College in 1997)	Wanniassa	1978
St John the Apostle Primary	Florey	1979
St Anthony’s Primary	Wanniassa	1980
St Michael’s Primary	Kaleen	1983
Holy Family Primary	Gowrie	1985
St Peter’s Catholic College (became the senior Campus of Mackillop Catholic College in 1997)	Isabella Plains	1989
St Francis of Assisi Primary	Calwell	1988
St Clare of Assisi Primary	Conder	1994
Holy Spirit Primary	Nicholls	1996
Mackillop Catholic College – amalgamation of St Peter’s Catholic College, Isabella Plains and Padua Catholic High School, Wanniassa	Tuggeranong	1997
Good Shepherd Primary	Amaroo	2002

Table 6 Non-Government, non-Catholic schools
School	Open Date	Closing/amalgamation date
Blue Gum School	1998
Brindabella Christian School	1997	Site of the previous O’Connor Christian School which opened in 1980
Burgmann Anglican School	1998
Canberra Christian School	1972	Previously known as Mawson Seventh Day Adventist School
Canberra Girls' Grammar	1926
Canberra Grammar School	1929
Canberra Montessori School	1980
Covenant College	1991
Emmaus Christian School	1997	Site of St Brigid’s Primary School, Dickson
Galilee Day Program	unknown
Orana School	1981
Radford College	1984
Trinity Christian School	1980