On Wednesday, January 28th, 1981, John Paul II Senior High, at Marayong, opened its doors to the first intake of Year 11 students. This opening was the culmination of almost three and a half years of planning which involved the co-operation of a very large number of people. The school was the result of determined efforts of past and present Principals of the Catholic Regional High Schools of the Blacktown area and their Congregations as well as Bishops, Pastors and the parents of the area, to provide Catholic education for Senior students. For many years, the absence of senior Catholic education for students who lived between Parramatta and Penrith was a matter of serious concern for all these people who worked long and hard to do something about this unsatisfactory situation.

Those seeking senior Catholic education faced long journeys to schools such as Patrician Brothers, Fairfield; Cerdon College, Merrylands; Marist Brothers, Parramatta; Oakhill College, Castle Hill; St. Dominic's College, Penrith; Our Lady of Mercy College, Parramatta, and Mt. St. Benediet, Pennant Hills. Many students of the last twenty to thirty years gladly chose to make long journeys to these schools and other Catholic schools even further afield. However, the above schools could not cope with the numbers seeking places and students were faced with the choice of attending local Government high schools, often after attending Catholic schools for up to 11 years, or leaving school. The local Government high schools performed a very important and appreciated service for many years for a large proportion of those who went on but it was now very clear that the majority of parents preferred to have their own school to continue into the final senior years. The foundation of John Paul 11 stands as a tribute to the efforts of the Catholic people of the Blacktown area to do something about this situation, which most saw as not the ideal.

Important Decision

At the Provincial Chapter of the Patrician Brothers in late 1977, a formal motion was carried to guarantee the involment of the Brothers in the provision of senior education in the Blacktown area, either in staffing a senior section at St. Patrick's, Blacktown, or by joining with other Congregations in staffing a senior coeducational High School. By early February, 1978, the efforts of our Provincial, Brother Patrick, and the then Bishop of the Region, Bishop Clancy, working with local Clergy, Religious and Parishioners culminated in the decision to set up a school on land owned by the Marayong parish. It was agreed that a Patrician Brother would be Principal and the Presentation and Holy Family Sisters promised Religious for the staffing of the school.

Planning continued throughout 1978 and the first Development Application was lodged with Blacktown Council in March, 1979. In April, 1979, a Schools Commission Grant of $722,000 was made and the rest of the year was taken up in planning for the school, which was to be built to accommodate 600 students within three or four years of its establishment. Feeder schools were: St. Patrick's College, Blacktown, (Boys, Years 5 to 10); Nagle Girls' High, South Blacktown, (Girls, Years 7 to 10); Holy Family High School, Marayong, (Co-educational Years 7 to 10) and St. Agnes High School, Rooty Hill, (Co-educational), Years 7-10).

An Imposing Project

On Monday, March 10th, 1980, the builders Webb Brothers, moved onto the site to commence Stage IA, on a contract worth about $1.65 million, including equipment. The Architects for the project were Kevin J. Curtin and Company, with the plans drawn up originally by Mr. Bill Morrow and continued by Mr. Frank Sornmers, with Mr. Alan Guy as Supervising Architect.

In February, 1981, the school opened its doors to 177 Year 11 students, 76 boys and 101 girls, made up of 145 students from the local Regional Schools (82% of the enrolment), 13 students from other Catholic High Schools in the area (8% of the enrolment) and 19 students from Government High Schools and overseas (10% of the enrolrnent). The first Principal was Brother Stephen Aitken of the Patrician Brothers and Sister Irene solo, of the Holy Family Sisters, was the first Deputy. Fellow Religious on the staff were Sister Louise Wyer of the Presentation Sisters; Father Geoffrey Plant of the Franciscan Friars; and Brother Stephen Sweetman of the Patrician Brothers. There were 11 other teachers and 6 Ancillary staff appointed.

On December 22nd, 1980. the Schools Commission offered a further grant of $572,000 for Stage 1B and on the 16th June, 1980, a contract was signed with the builders, M. H. Farrow and Company for $0.9 million for the building including equipment. This project was completed in June, 1982.

In December, 1981, a third Schools Commission Grant of $946,000 was made for Stage 2 and a contract was signed with a third builder, Colbron Constructions, in May, 1982, for $1.25 million, including equipment.

February, 1982, saw an enrolment of 372 students, made up of 220 girls and 150 boys with 208 enrolments in Year 11 and 164 in Year 12. There were 30 teaching staff and Sister Marie Slocum of the Brigidine Sisters, was a welcome addition to the staff.
The final project to be completed by May, 1983, cost $3.8 million including equipment with $2.2 million (approximately) provided by the Schools Commission and $1.6 million (approximately) by the Catholic Building and Finance Commission and local Parishes. There are 13 specialist Rooms, 17 General Purpose Classrooms, a Hall to seat 200 and a large Students' Common Room as well as large Library and Administrative facilities. The school has been planned as a flexible unit, able to provide facilities for Lecture-Tutorial approaches, traditional classroom approaches and Open-Plan learning in different parts of the school, to ensure that all teaching styles and student needs
could be met. Over 300 applications for Year 11, 1983 have been received and from this about 260 enrolments are likely, amply fulfilling the predictions of growth suggested in surveys of 1979.