St Philip's Christian College

What St Philip's Christian College does

St Philip's Christian Education is a private, non-profit educational foundation (St Philip's Christian Education Foundation Ltd, SPCEF) founded in 1982 in Waratah, New South Wales, Australia. The foundation operates a vertically integrated network spanning Early Learning centres (Narnia, ages 0-5), five K-12 co-educational colleges (Newcastle, Gosford, Cessnock, Port Stephens, Snowy Mountains), specialised tailored education (Dynamic Learning College for students with mental health disorders, learning difficulties and ASD; Young Parents College; Gilibaa bilingual Aboriginal school; Saints Academy extended-hours program), and a Tertiary Teaching School launched in 2018 as the first Teaching School (Hub/Alliance) in Australia. The organisation currently serves over 5,000 students with more than 900 staff across regional NSW.

The technology stack centres on an Apple MacBook one-to-one program for Years 5-12 students on a rolling 2-year cycle, supported by an in-house iSupport helpdesk and internally hosted email. Administrative functions leverage HubSpot CRM (for Teaching School marketing automation and contact management) and the Mosaic mentoring platform (for trainee and mentor workflows in initial teacher education). Infrastructure investment is material: three Master Builders Association of NSW Excellence in Building Awards in 2024 for the Port Stephens Junior School (AUD 10-20M category), Central Office (AUD 5-10M), and Waratah Active Learning Centre (AUD 20-30M).

The revenue model is subscription/recurring tuition and school fees paid by families, supplemented by fundraising (e.g., annual Golf Classic) and donations. Tuition pricing is not publicly disclosed; each campus maintains its own fee structure. GTM is direct-to-consumer: families apply directly to their preferred campus, supported by Open Days, content marketing, social media, and community events. The Snowy Mountains expansion and the new Tharreo Wilderness Centre (dedicated April 2026) indicate continued footprint growth, while the LEAD Committee and Accelerate program signal structured leadership succession.

Name

St Philip's Christian College

Legal name

St Philip's Christian Education Foundation Ltd

Website

https://spcc.nsw.edu.au

Company type

Private

Founded year

1982

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

501–1,000 employees

Short description

St Philip's Christian Education is a NSW-based non-profit foundation operating a vertically integrated network of five K-12 colleges, early learning centres, specialised tailored education programs, and a teacher training school, serving over 5,000 students and 900 staff across regional Australia.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

K-12 Christian Education

NAICS

Elementary and Secondary Schools (6111), Colleges, Universities, and Professional Schools (6113), Educational Services (61)

SIC

Services-Educational Services (8200)

akta.pro primary industry

Faith-Based (Religious) K–12 Schools (EDAJABAC)

akta.pro secondary industry

Faith-Based Early Learning Academies (EDACADAH)

Keywords

• Christian K-12 education
• Early childhood learning
• Special needs education
• Teacher training programs
• Vocational education training

Headquarters

HQ city

Waratah

HQ country

Australia

HQ region

Oceania

Offices8 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Infrastructure, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Others

Revenue model

1. Tuition and School Fees: St Philip's Christian Education generates revenue through tuition and school fees charged to families for their children's education across Early Learning, Colleges, Tailored Education, and Tertiary Education programs.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

St Philip's Christian College, operated by St Philip's Christian Education Foundation Ltd, is a non-profit Christian educational network that delivers whole-of-life education from early childhood (0–5 years) through Kindergarten to Year 12, plus tertiary teacher training. It runs multiple co-educational K-12 colleges, early learning centres, tailored education programs for students with special needs, young parents and Aboriginal students, and a Teaching School.

Product overview

St Philip's Christian Education operates a network of educational institutions across New South Wales, Australia. The organization offers a comprehensive portfolio including four main K-12 colleges (Newcastle, Gosford, Cessnock, Port Stephens), Early Learning centres (Narnia), specialized tailored education programs (Dynamic Learning College, Young Parents College, Gilibaa, Saints Academy), a Teaching School for teacher training, and the new Tharreo Wilderness Centre. The education system is built on a 'whole of life education' philosophy developing students intellectually, socially, physically and spiritually. Technology programs include One-to-One MacBook programs, iSupport IT helpdesk, and the Mosaic mentoring platform.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• St Philip's Christian College Newcastle Founding co-educational Kindergarten to Year 12 college of the St Philip's network, located in Waratah/Newcastle, offering the full SPCE curriculum and the one-to-one MacBook program for Years 5-12.
• St Philip's Christian College Gosford Co-educational K-12 college on the Central Coast (Gosford) offering comprehensive programs including the iThrive wellbeing framework.
• St Philip's Christian College Cessnock K-12 college on 100 acres in the Hunter Valley with the Powerful Learning Framework, SmartTrack non-ATAR HSC pathway, and award-winning learning programs; over 1200 students.
• St Philip's Christian College Port Stephens Co-educational K-12 college at Salamander Bay with a new Junior School building (opened 2024) that houses the Gilibaa bilingual Aboriginal school.
• St Philip's Christian College Snowy Mountains K-12 college in the Snowy Mountains region offering St Philip's standard Christian education curriculum.
• Narnia Early Learning Dedicated early childhood facilities (Narnia Christian Preschool and Early Childhood Centres) catering to children from 0 to 5 years old across six centres within the SPCE network.
• Dynamic Learning College Tailored education for students with diagnosed mental health disorders, learning difficulties and/or ASD, operating multiple campuses across Newcastle, Cessnock, Gosford, and Port Stephens.
• Young Parents College Education program supporting teenage parents (both mothers and fathers) to continue their education alongside parenting, with campuses in Newcastle and Central Coast.
• Gilibaa Innovative bilingual Aboriginal school teaching both Gutung (language of First Nation Worimi people) and English, located within Port Stephens Junior School.
• Saints Academy Extended education catering to student needs outside of traditional school hours with an unhurried focus on learning possibilities.
• St Philip's Teaching School Post-school Initial Teacher Education program, the first Teaching School (Hub/Alliance) in Australia, providing graduate teacher training across 21 member schools in NSW, Canberra, and Western Australia.
• Tharreo Wilderness Centre Wilderness centre located in Swan Bay offering adventure education, spiritual formation, and character development programs; the name means 'to be courageous' from the Greek New Testament.
• SmartTrack Non-ATAR HSC pathway without examinations, focusing on real-world project-based learning, employability skills, and industry engagement; includes the addVENTURE Program integrating Work Studies, English Studies, and Mathematics.
• VET Courses Vocational Education and Training courses offered on-site covering Automotive, Business, Construction, Electrotechnology, Fitness, Hospitality, and Primary Industries.

Quantifiable outcome

• First College in Waratah grew from 25 students to over 1400 students
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers1 record

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration2 records

Feature3 records

Partnerships

Eleven partnerships are on record, tiered minor and core.

• Stanton Dahl ArchitectsminorOthersSponsor for the inaugural St Philip's Christian Education Golf Classic community event held at Rydges Resort Hunter Valley.
• EdstartminorOthersSponsor for the inaugural St Philip's Christian Education Golf Classic community event.
• Tridant Pty LtdminorOthersSponsor for the inaugural St Philip's Christian Education Golf Classic community event.
• BEM GroupminorOthersSponsor for the inaugural St Philip's Christian Education Golf Classic community event.
• Hall & WilcoxminorOthersSponsor for the inaugural St Philip's Christian Education Golf Classic community event.
• AonminorOthersSponsor for the inaugural St Philip's Christian Education Golf Classic community event.
• Lipman ConstructionscoreOthersBuilder for the award-winning Port Stephens Junior School Commercial Building project ($10M - $20M category).
• North Construction and BuildingcoreOthersBuilder for the award-winning Central Office Public Buildings project ($5M - $10M category).
• Richard Crookes ConstructionscoreOthersBuilder for the award-winning Waratah Active Learning Centre Commercial Building project ($20M - $30M category).
• Mosaic PlatformcoreTechnology or IntegrationSoftware platform used by the Teaching School to support trainees and mentors in enabling individualised and student-centred learning towards graduate standards. The platform founders are from the UK and conducted strategic planning to enhance the platform for the Australian context.
• HubSpotcoreTechnology or IntegrationAI-supported technology product used by St Philip's Teaching School for creating, sending and managing emails, monitoring and collecting data from inbound emails, and creating and maintaining contact databases. HubSpot's servers are located overseas including in Europe and the United States of America.

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves15 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Broad incumbents

• Christian Education National: National peak body representing a large network of independent Christian schools across Australia. Comparable as a broad Christian school ecosystem encompassing K-12 education with shared mission, accreditation, and inter-school collaboration models.
• Goodstart Early Learning: Australia's largest not-for-profit early childhood education provider with hundreds of centres nationally. Comparable to Narnia Early Learning as a private/non-profit early learning operator, though operating at materially larger scale and as a secular provider.
• Southern Cross University: Australian regional university with multiple NSW campuses offering undergraduate and postgraduate programs including Initial Teacher Education. Comparable to St Philip's Teaching School on the tertiary/teacher-training side, with similar regional footprint.

Direct peers

• Penrith Christian School: NSW-based independent Christian K-12 school operating with similar values-based educational philosophy and faith-based enrolment model. Directly comparable in mission, customer segment (faith-based families), and tuition-funded private school business model.
• St. Andrew's Cathedral School: Anglican K-12 private school in Sydney with a faith-based ethos and whole-child educational philosophy. Comparable in faith-based positioning, K-12 scope, premium tuition model, and emphasis on character and spiritual formation alongside academic outcomes.
• Australian Christian College: Multi-campus Australian Christian K-12 school network operating across multiple states, offering faith-based Kindergarten to Year 12 education. Highly comparable to St Philip's in target market (Christian families), business model (tuition-funded private schools), and product scope (whole-of-life K-12 with early learning and tertiary pathways).
• Emmanuel College (NSW): Catholic secondary college in the Newcastle/Hunter region providing faith-based secondary education. Comparable in geographic catchment, faith-based ethos, and K-12 educational offering, though denominational affiliation and funding model differ.

Regional players

• Maitland Christian School: Hunter Region-based independent Christian K-12 school in the same geographic catchment as St Philip's Newcastle and Cessnock campuses. Comparable in regional Australian faith-based K-12 positioning, though smaller in scale and operating in a directly overlapping territory.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/st-philip's-christian-college
• Xx.com/spccnewcastle

Compliance3 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles19 records

Subsidiaries12 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about St Philip's Christian College