St John the Baptist Catholic School began in 1921. It is situated four kilometers north of Manly in Sydney.
St John the Baptist Catholic Primary School was officially opened in July of 1922 with the Good Samaritan nuns as first teachers and administrators of the school. The nuns taught lessons inside the Church each day, converting it back into a Church for weekend service. At the time, the Church was not yet a parish and the building was often referred to by the nuns as “The Station Church” or “The Chapel of Ease”. The Good Samaritan Sisters administered the school until 1975 when it came under lay leadership, however sisters remained teaching in the school until 1989.
Today, St John the Baptist Catholic Primary School is part of a twinned parish, known as Manly Freshwater Parish. The Parish has two residing priests; Parish Priest, Father Chima Ofor and Assistant Priest, Fr Marek Woldan. who works with the school at Freshwater. The Parish has celebrated over 90 years, culturally retaining the Good Samaritans history and the strong community spirit still today.