History

The school was founded in 1929 by Mr Alexander Don as a private boys’ boarding preparatory school. In the first year there were eighteen pupils aged from seven to fourteen years. The school continued to grow and in 1955 it became part of the then St Matthew’s Trust Board and was temporarily known as St Matthew’s Collegiate School for Boys – Hadlow. In 1959 it was referred to as St Matthew’s Preparatory School for Boys – Hadlow. By this stage the roll had grown to ninety boys.
 
In 1961, with a roll of 100, the suggestion was first raised that a secondary school be built for the Hadlow boys, and in 1963 a third form (Y9) was established at the school as part of the foundation of Rathkeale College in 1964. In that same year the school was renamed as Hadlow Preparatory School for Boys. This was short-lived as twenty-three junior girls arrived from St Matthew’s Collegiate School in 1971 and Hadlow became co-educational. In 1982, with the roll at 152, the Y7&8 girls were returned to St Matthew’s Collegiate School, and Hadlow was then co-educational up to Year 6, and boys only at the Year 7 and 8 levels.
 
In 1993, with the integration of the other two Trinity Schools, St Matthew’s Collegiate and Rathkeale College, Hadlow once again was able to offer co-education from Y1 to Y8 as an independent school. In 1999, the school was integrated into the state education sector with a maximum roll of 200. Integration required the school to bring all its facilities up to state code, and so the Trinity Schools’ Trust Board and the school’s board of trustees embarked on major capital works that saw the school enter the new millennium as a school of the twenty-first century.
 
The physical developments and the school-wide integration of ICT across the curriculum have not meant that the history and traditions of the school have been lost. The school is very proud of its heritage and today blends sound, traditional teaching and learning with the most innovative practices and curriculum initiatives.