Photo and Story courtesy of the Northern Daily Leader. (Caitin Reid and Gareth Gardner)

TAMWORTH'S Calrossy Anglican School is celebrating its biggest student population ever, with 140 students set to start their secondary educational journey in the new year.

The 103-year-old school has about 90 girls and 50 boys enrolled for 2022 at the William Cowper Campus, including more than 40 boarders from across regional NSW - its largest ever intake.

Principal David Smith said the enrolments growth comes as the school readies for the next phase of construction with commencement of an additional classroom block on the William Cowper Campus.

"Earlier this year we launched a big new building with science, art facilities and technology," he said. "We've got another building which we're just in the process of starting to commence which will be partly music, but also more classrooms just to make it totally standalone."

The $6.1 million building will be ready for students in 2023 and includes a 300 seat tiered classroom, specialist music facilities and flexible learning spaces. The masterplan also includes a new carpark and access for the William Cowper Campus designed to improve Moore Creek Road traffic flow at peak times and provide convenience to parents.

After a year that outdid everybody's expectations and provided never-ending challenges for students, Mr Smith said he's proud of the school's resilience. "The kids have shone through, and I'm really proud of the teachers and the way that they've supported the kids," he said. 

"It reinforces to me how important schools are as that centrepiece of community, and society."

In a normal year, the school would get between 100 to 115 new enrolments, and a growing number of male enrolments is also something the school is welcoming. "Our enrolments are about 60 per cent girls to 40 per cent boys, and we've always had gender balance, but we're really pleased with the growing number of boys coming too," Mr Smith said.