STAFF, students and parents at Bathurst Christian School are looking for a saviour to help them stay in operation past the end of the current school year.
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Located on Lloyds Road on the grounds of the former All Hallows School run by the Dominican sisters until the late 1960s, Bathurst Christian School is expected to close its doors for the last time at the end of the year
School principal Dr David Baker yesterday said the difficult decision came after the former owners of the building, Indigenous Business Australia, sold the property to a local developer who it is believed to be turning parts of the vacant land into accommodation.
“It was a hard decision to make but we knew it was a
possibility,” he said.
“I guess it has been on the cards for the last seven years but since IBA made the decision to sell the land to a developer the situation has changed.
“The developer offered us to stay at a price we were never able to afford without significantly increasing costs.”
Unless the school can find a suitable location the board of Orange Christian School Ltd, which is in charge of the Bathurst school, admitted they had no option but to suspend the operations in the hope that another site could be found within the next two years.
At a parents’ meeting held at the school last week, Dr Baker said many people were upset and uncertain what was best for their children.
“It is disappointing for parents as they want to protect their children,” he said.
“Bathurst Christian School is the equivalent of a two-teacher country school and the fear is the bigger schools won’t suit their children’s needs.
“Parents don’t want to see their children lost in the bigger schools. While some parents will look to go Orange Christian School others won’t like having their children on a bus with older kids for 45 minutes.”
Bathurst Christian School has been open for 13 years, including 11 years at the Lloyds Road site.
“It will be business as usual for the rest of the year as we make the most of our time,” Dr Baker said. “At the end of the year the children will have a play and a dramatic performance as a bit of closure.
“Other than that we will be trying to help transition the students into the new school. That transition is very important to make sure the change is not too stressful.”
