All Saint College at Maitland overhauls links between its campuses

The separately run schools that fall under the All Saints College (ASC) banner – the years seven to 10 St Peter’s at Maitland and St Joseph’s at Lochinvar plus year 11 and 12 St Mary’s at Maitland – have overhauled their alliance.

The Catholic Schools Office (CSO) has consolidated the St Mary’s and St Peter’s campuses under a new unified leadership model and will now treat it as one school – the largest in the Diocese of Maitland-Newcastle, with 1445 students.

St Joseph’s has become a stand-alone year seven to 12 school. “It’s a time of regrowth, rebuilding and renewal,” Mr Cleary said.

"To come to this school, find this hidden jewel and have the opportunity to polish it up is unbelievable."

As ASC principal, Mr Cleary will oversee two heads of campus, plus three assistant principals who will work across both campuses.

“The structures were [previously] more nebulous than they were strong,” he said. “The disjointedness of having two schools instead of one college is educationally not as favourable as having them combined. We'll have the learning teams working across both campuses so you have oversight of a student from year seven to 12. 

"I come from private schools in Sydney and this school as one college will – once you combine those resources – compare favourably to any of the best schools in Sydney. It's about a big city education in the country."

The school will unveil its new visual identity including a new banner, badges, crest and colours on February 8 and is moving towards a shared uniform.

Mr Cleary was last principal at St Augustine’s College in Sydney, which he grew from 440 to 1350 students in the 15 years to 2016, when he left to become chief executive of the NRL's Manly Sea Eagles.

"I'm an administrator, a builder, and Manly brought me in because they saw me build a lot of buildings opposite Brookvale Oval," he said.

"It was a move that wasn't fulfilling for me after a short period of time.  What I'm bringing from that experience is I belong in schools."  Mr Cleary said he could see ASC's already-full campuses expanding.

"I'm confident… that demand will peak," he said. "There's plenty of spaces we haven't utilised plus plenty of old buildings that need to go into a time of renewal. If you can dust off the cobwebs and give them a lick of paint they will once again be magnificent. It hasn't reached its potential yet, there's a lot to be done and the capacity is there." 

The CSO will also open St Bede’s Catholic College at nearby Chisholm this year.  NSW students will make a staggered return to schools from Monday.