North Ainslie Primary School opened in 1958 to serve a growing community in the Dickson and Ainslie region. Our founding principal, Terry O’Connell, promoted a philosophy where schools are a place where community is at its centre and where the focus is on the full development of the child. He envisioned a place where every child has a community around them to help them grow and thrive. The school opened with 360 children who had views overlooking paddocks where sheep were grazing.
Upon construction of the infant’s school, it was clear expansions were soon going to be needed into a primary school, so an additional double storey building comprising eight additional classrooms, manual training and sewing rooms, and a primary assembly and tuckshop area were built. Also included in these upgrades were new principal and deputy offices, and a medical unit encompassing a medical officer, dental treatment room, and a waiting room. To support the ever-growing demand for our school, four more classrooms were built in 1965. The school was at its height during this time with over 1100 students attending.
North Ainslie Primary School has always valued diversity. It was one of the first schools in the ACT to introduce an additional language program in the 1960s, with a teacher employed to teach Greek. This program ran for many years and was embedded in the play, teaching, and cultural experience for the students. North Ainslie continues this tradition which a designated French language teacher as well as being home to an Introductory English Centre which first opened in 1971.
From the school’s early years, the focus has always been on promoting language, the arts, music, and sport. The school still holds these strong values, having dedicated music and art teachers and opportunities for all children to participate and represent our school in a variety of sports.
In 1991, the North Ainslie Preschool was brought on site with the primary school. In 2008, Hackett Preschool became part of North Ainslie Primary School and is still situated in the leafy suburb of Hackett.
North Ainslie Primary School was one of the founding schools to introduce after school care. In 2002, the YMCA After School care program started operating, and still runs today.
In 2004, the school began the process to become part of the International Baccalaureate World Schools program, strengthening the beliefs about educating the whole child.
In 2018, North Ainslie Primary School celebrated its 60th Birthday and the school looks forward to its 70th birthday.
Today, there are over 600 children enrolled from preschool to year 6, who come from over 22 different countries, and speak over 35 different languages.