If forty is middle-aged, then Nepean Christian School has never been more active. This year, it celebrates a wonderful milestone in our community.
Nepean Christian School is nestled behind bushland along Mulgoa Road. It is an unassuming entranceway for a school that is achieving incredible things in our community. With over 600 students, it has grown from small beginnings in Blaxland to a vibrant community with big goals. It moved onto the current site more than 30 years ago, taking over Clancy’s restaurant, and although the restaurant is no longer there, the spirit of warmth and hospitality continues to be a defining character of the school.
Nepean Christian School is the only Preschool to Year 12 school in the Mulgoa-Wallacia area, having commenced an Early Childhood Centre, called Puggles in 2023. The name was well-chosen, considering a young platypus was caught, tagged, and released shortly after. Surrounded by bushland, the school is a haven for all sorts of wildlife, including kangaroos, wallabies, and wombats. Students take advantage of a beautiful setting to frame learning.
“It’s a special environment for learning,” said Principal Dr Cameron Nunn. “We’re trying to do things a little differently to other schools.” The whole school has a very relational feel. The aim is that every student will be known by their name and valued for who they are. “For us, this flows directly out of our Christian foundation, that every child is made in the image of God.”
Over the forty years, the school has embarked on a number of other interesting projects with the aim of serving the local community. All the older students in the school must do twenty hours of community service each year and seniors also develop an individual leadership project that has them working with community groups to enhance their world. “For us, education is not just about a number on a page. It’s about equipping the whole child for a life of loving and serving those around them.”
As part of their forty year celebration, the school is holding a celebration dinner to welcome back past leaders and community members, as well as a community fair in September.