When Father Paul arrived in the Parish in 2000, he recognized the need for a Catholic Primary School and Mother Church for the Parish. It was quite a complex parish because the Church in Bullsbrook was owned by the SACRI Association, rather than the Parish or Archdiocese and because of this, the use of that Church by the Parish was restricted. At a Parish Planning Committee in 2001 it was decided that Maryville Downs would be a good site for a School and Parish Church. This was due to the fact that most of the Chittering population resided in Maryville Downs. The developers of the Maryville Downs Estate were approached and Mr Bernie Prindiville, donated 4.2 ha to the Catholic Archdiocese of Perth. For many years, Fr Paul had desired to start a Catholic school and in 2010 he met Mrs Doris Anastasiades through a mutual friend who had happened to mention that he wished to start a school. Doris, a retired Primary School Teacher, was very interested. Divine providence was at work and Doris and Fr Paul met another person, Mr Jim Howe, who was very interested in the vision for the College. Together they wrote the Charter and Constitution in 2010 and it was decided to call the College Immaculate Heart College.
The three met with Archbishop Hickey who saw the need and was very supportive of getting the College started. Fr Paul was also keen to have Religious Sisters involved, so he invited the Missionary Sisters of Mary from the Philippines whose main task would be to assist with Religious Education. The next hurdle was to seek enrolments, get the approval of the Department of Education, install classrooms on the site and receive all the relevant approvals for the buildings. Through the grace of God, they succeeded in this and the College was formally opened and blessed by Archbishop Hickey in 2012. The first intake was 24 students, and the Foundational Principal was Dr Angela Evangelinou-Yiannakis.
Since its humble beginnings, the College has grown rapidly, additional land has been purchased by the Board and the College had around 375 students in 2021. The Board of Directors, which include foundational Directors Fr Paul and Mrs Doris Anastasiades, continue with the help of other Directors to wisely govern the College and ensure that the best possible education is provided to students at IHC. The Theology is taught by orthodox Catholics who love the Church and teach in fidelity to the Catechism of the Catholic Church.
2022 was an exciting year with the first stage of the permanent Secondary School building officially opening. We also welcomed our new Principal Mrs Sammantha Da Luz who commenced in Term Two.