St. Andrew’s Grammar was founded in 1990 by the Hellenic Community of Western Australia to provide a quality Greek Orthodox education, and to keep the language and culture alive for families of Greek heritage. St Andrew’s remain the only Greek Orthodox School in Western Australia.
The work of key members of the local Hellenic Community, including Mr Emanuel Petrelis, Mr Athanasios Limnios and Mr Tony Missikos, was influential in convincing the State Government to make available 10.6 hectares of land in Dianella for the School. Financial support for the construction came from donations from many Greek Brotherhoods, Associations and individual personal gifts, in addition to a Commonwealth Government Grant.
In August 1990, Mr Emanuel Petrelis was invited to the position of Chair of the School Board, supported by other founding Board members: Mr Ken Michael (Deputy Chair), Mr Peter Vlachou, Dr Paul Boyatzis, Dr Angela Evangelinou-Yiannakis, Ms Loula Papandreou, Mr Ilias Iliadis, Mr John Palassis and Mr Stan Gavalas. Our Founding Principal, Mr Roy Browning, was also determined at this time.
Site works began in October of the same year and on Sunday 16 December 1990, the Petrelis Family laid the very first cornerstone brick in the presence of distinguished guests from the Hellenic Community.
At the start of 1991, St. Andrew’s Greek Orthodox School commenced with eight pupils. By the time the first building officially opened on 26 May that year, with the Federal Minister of Education and the West Australian Minister of Education presiding over the formalities, the student population had risen to 25.
In 1998 the School was incorporated following an agreement between the Hellenic Community of WA and the Greek Parents and Citizens Association that full ownership of the land be vested to the Hellenic Community of WA.
In 2005, St. Andrew’s Grammar became a Pre-Kindergarten to Year 12 school, finally fulfilling the condition required by the State Government for the settlement of the School land.
On the appointment of the current Principal, Mr Craig Monaghan in 2019, the School has turned a significant corner moving from a School, population of 379 to a projected 870 students in 2025. The school is strategically planning to cap this enrolment at 950 and in doing so expect to establish significant waitlists from 2026 and beyond.
Over 30 years on, the School has reached enrolment numbers of over 700 students with over 45 nationalities represented in the student body.
