A nearly half a million dollar plan to revamp Mamre Anglican School, at Kemps Creek south of St Clair, is now under way with the appointment of Victor Branson as campus head.
Already Mr Branson is on the search for "dynamic young Christian teachers', with applications for a new primary school and TAS teacher closing this week.
The school was known as Mamre Christian School until the Sydney Anglican Schools Corporation (SASC) took over in August in a bid to ensure its viability.
"Having the support of SASC is wonderful," Mr Branson says. "There have been people here nearly every day helping to improve the facilities."
More than $400,000 will be spent in the next 12 months to refurbish the school, including 60 new computers, student lockers, $10,000 worth of books and upgrades to the sports fields and carparks.
``It’s going to take a big effort to get the school back into shape,’’ Mr Branson says. ``It was a thriving Christian school but has declined in the past six years" We’re raising the bar all round.’‘
School numbers from K to 12 had dwindled to just 170 pupils, despite having the classrooms for more than four times that number.
``I hope to build the school back up to 800 students within five years,’’ Mr Branson says.
Build on strong Christian witness
Mr Branson said what won't change is the school's strong Christian studies program.
"It's a case of building on the school's existing strengths," he says.
The school previously had a strong Baptist ethos, but drew teachers from a wide range of denominational backgrounds.
"The school has had a very good Christian witness over the years and we want to build on that," Mr Branson continues.
Mr Branson, who attends Holy Trinity, Dulwich Hill, has already made personal contact with the local Anglican minister who already has children at the school, and hopes to strengthen that link.
"In time I'm sure we will be able to employ an Anglican minister as chaplain like other SASC schools," he says.
For the time being, Mamre Anglican School will run as a campus of Penrith Anglican College (PAC). The school will operate under PAC's governance structures with PAC headmaster Barry Roots acting as executive principal.
However the hope is that as enrolments increase, the school will become independent of PAC.
Experienced school head
Mr Branson has extensive experience working at a number of Sydney's top Anglican Schools.
Until the early 1990s he worked at Trinity Grammar, and from 2004 to 2007, Mr Branson held a number of senior teaching and management positions at St Andrew’s Cathedral School in Sydney.
Nevertheless, it's a massive challenge to lift enrolments in the face of once-in-a-generation economic slowdown.
But Mr Branson is optimistic.
As foundation principal of Bishop Druitt College at Coffs Harbour in 1993 he worked on a shoestring budget to build the school from 37 students to almost 1100 within 10 years.
``The aim is to let the community know that we’re rebranding and rebuilding,’’ Mr Branson said. "People know that Anglicans run good schools. We have good governance structures" and offer high academic standards."
