From Classroom to Community:
Over 50 Years of Impact
Kelly Keall, Community Engagement Manager, Anglicare WA
In Western Australia, Anglican schools have been places of learning since 1858 when Bishop Hale founded Bishop’s Collegiate College, now known as Hale School. These schools have always shaped not only what young people can achieve, but who they are called to be.
That sense of calling is strengthened through connection with the wider community, particularly through partnerships with organisations like Anglicare WA.
While Anglican schools have been part of the WA landscape for more than 150 years, the system we recognise today has grown significantly since the mid-1980s. What was once a small group of traditional schools has expanded into a diverse network of communities across metropolitan and regional WA.
Alongside academic excellence, there has been a growing emphasis on service, justice and compassion, values deeply aligned with the mission of Anglicare WA.
Last month, Anglicare WA celebrated its 50th anniversary. Established in June 1976 as the social services arm of the Anglican Church, it now supports more than 100,000 Western Australians each year, walking alongside individuals and families facing some of life’s toughest challenges - homelessness, financial hardship, family and domestic violence and social isolation.
Service-learning programs are now embedded across Anglican schools, with many initiatives supporting the work and clients of Anglicare WA. Through student-led fundraising, advocacy initiatives such as the Anglicare WA Advocacy Masterclass, and immersive experiences like the School Sleep Out or visits to the Thread Together Hub, young people are engaging directly with the realities faced by many in our community.
They are not simply hearing about disadvantage. They are encountering it, questioning it, and responding to it.
Just as importantly, students bring their own energy, creativity and passion, discovering that they have both a voice and a role to play.
A student who once saw homelessness as a distant issue begins to understand the structural causes behind it. A group of friends organising a fundraiser begins to see the collective impact they can have. A young person speaking at a school assembly begins to recognise their capacity for leadership.
In these moments, education moves beyond the classroom. It becomes formation in empathy, justice and action.
For Anglican schools, this is not an “add-on”. It is central to their identity. Faith is not only something we learn; it is something we live.
Together, Anglican schools and Anglicare WA are helping to shape young people who are not only well-educated, but deeply aware, connected and committed to building a more just and inclusive community.
For Anglicare WA, partnerships with schools are more than opportunities for fundraising or volunteering. They are an investment in the next generation of compassionate leaders.
A photograph from 1987 shows Hale School students engage in a reforestation project on Rottnest Island, contributing to something that would grow far beyond their own time at school.
Nearly four decades later, another image captures Hale School students carefully packing housing starter kits for Anglicare WA clients experiencing homelessness. Practical acts of care for people they may never meet, but whose lives will be touched by their effort.
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Different moments. Different needs. The same spirit.
From restoring the natural environment to supporting individuals rebuilding their lives, Anglican school students have long been responding to the needs of their time with compassion and action.
What began in classrooms continues to ripple outward - into communities, into relationships, and into the lives of those who need it most.
Anglican schools in Western Australia don’t just educate young people, they empower them to change the world around them and Anglicare WA is proud to be part of this enduring partnership.