Enrolment Information
Why a Catholic education?
Catholic schools are centred on the person of Jesus Christ and are called to live and proclaim the message of the Gospel. Supported by, and in collaboration with, the Catholic community of which they are a vital part, Catholic schools encourage staff, students and their families into a personal relationship with Jesus, challenging them to find, through Him, meaning and value in their lives.
The college is an integral part of the parish and pastoral region’s program of outreach to Catholic families. Enrolment in a Catholic school enables the local Catholic community to offer support to parents in the faith education of their children. In addition, Catholic schools contribute significantly to the wider national community by promoting quality education and a just and tolerant society.
Does my child need to be Catholic to attend St Mary’s?
No. St Mary’s is open to all who want to share its educational goal, inspired by Christian principles. In accordance with each school’s enrolment vacancies, preference is given to students who are baptised Catholic and who live in the local parish, and then to children of Catholic families from other parishes who wish to enrol. However, schools are open to all who wish to be guided in their education by the principles and teachings of Christ.
All families and their children, Catholic or non-Catholic, are invited to have a Catholic education but must be willing to participate in the religious life of the school.
When is the enrolment period?
St Mary’s accepts enrolments at any time of the school year, however the official enrolment period for the following year is during Catholic Schools Week, usually held each March.
We encourage enquiries midway through the year about availabilities should you wish to have your child attend a Catholic school.
What is the enrolment process?
Once an application is received, it is placed on the waiting list for that year group and will be reviewed in line with other applications when a position becomes available. Positions are determined against the enrolment criteria when one becomes available, rather than the length of time on the waiting list.
Overseas students
A small number of places in schools in the Diocese of Maitland-Newcastle may be available to students on visas who share our Catholic faith and ethos. Currently, no students with a visa subclass 500 are able to be enrolled into diocesan Catholic schools.
For more information, please see the Enrolment of Students on Visas Policy.
Provider name: Trustees of the Roman Catholic Church for the Diocese of Maitland/Newcastle
CRICOS provider code: 03339D
The CSO's contact person for the area of overseas students is:
Chris Quinn
Assistant Director of Schools
P | (02) 4979 1244
E | chris.quinn@mn.catholic.edu.au
Enrolment Policy
St Mary’s follows Catholic Schools Office Enrolment Policy guidelines. This Enrolment Policy has been devised in order to accommodate the needs of families seeking a Catholic education. It aims to set direction for school procedures and practices for enrolling students into Catholic primary and secondary schools within the Diocese of Maitland-Newcastle. It establishes a common, consistent approach in enrolment practices and assists the system of Catholic schools in providing schooling, where possible, for all Catholic children who seek enrolment. The policy caters for the individual needs of each child equitably within the constraints of the available teaching and material resources and encourages parents enrolling their children in Catholic schools to give support to parish and school life, especially in education in faith.