History

The Sutherland Board of Christian Education in State Schools (SBCE) was formed on November 24 1980, and the first
teacher was appointed at Kirrawee High School in March 1981, teaching timetabled classes for Years 7 and 8. The first officers of the Board were Trevor Thorburn (St John’s Sutherland), Judith Burden and Roy Lummis (Sutherland Uniting Church). From the beginning, it was also planned to support a teacher at Gymea Technology High School as soon as it was possible … though it remained very difficult for a long time because of the unique system of timetabling and classes at Gymea High. However the vision remained strong, the Board persisted and finally in 1998 a teacher was appointed at Gymea High. Initially, the Board had different teachers in each school, teaching all available students in Years 7 and 8. In recent years it has proved very helpful to have one teacher employed to work in both schools, though we occasionally experience some timetabling difficulties between the schools.