This year, as we look at refreshing our iconic rooftop on top of St Andrew’s House, our archivist Kelton Jarvis reflects on the various rooftop playgrounds St Andrew’s Cathedral School students have used and loved. 

Playgrounds were pioneered in Germany, by Frederick Frobel in the 1830s. Frobel created the concept of Kindergarten, recognising that children have unique needs and capabilities and introducing the concept that games are of educational worth. . Frobel’s belief that play was necessary for the development of children as whole persons, would eventually reach the world.  

Rooftop playgrounds originate from Manhattan. Rudolph Aronson, composer and producer, wanting to mimic the garden theatres of Europe, hit upon creating gardens and theatres atop skyscrapers. The opening of the Casino Theatre in 1883 allowed the idea to spread, with one of the first photos of rooftop playgrounds taken in 1903. The access to fresh air, open space and excellent views has proven irresistible for city schools.   

St Andrew’s House was not the home of our first rooftop playground. We have a photo of students playing cricket atop the Diocesan Church House in 1923; and another photo shows brave fencing students performing drills atop an area of Chapter House. In 1973, when the school was temporarily located in the C.E.N.E.F building, they used that rooftop for their playground.  

But what of our current iconic rooftop? In 1976, when St Andrew’s House was built, Levels 7, 8 and 9 (the rooftop) were built to house our school. The rooftop featured large stone benches built around planted trees. In addition to the familiar cricket nets and basketball court, there was a fencing area, a rooftop amphitheatre and a botany ground. It appears that in 1982 the botany ground briefly became a ‘mouse nursery’ for Year 7 Science. 

Various murals have been added to the rooftop over the years. The first was in 1983, courtesy of Year 9 whose talented efforts created four portraits. In 1998, Souha Rowdah-Homan took on the task of beautifying the playground with murals.  From 1998 to 2008 she created The Beginning, a dreamtime depiction, followed by the Sea of Life in 1999 depicting Sydney Harbour, Underwater Splendour of the Barrier Reef and Flora and Fauna in 2008. “My wish is that our students … who represent our future … will be inspired to be caretakers and help preserve our country’s natural wonders.” Souha Rowdah-Homan, 2007 

In 1985, the rooftop amphitheatre was enclosed into the existing rooftop classroom. Interestingly the school still held performances there including the Matchmaker in 1990, and A Midsummer Night’s Dream in 1991. In 2007, with the creation of Gawura our unique First Nations school, the rooftop became their home. Once Gawura moved to Level 7, the classroom was used for a variety of purposes, and is currently housing, before, afterschool care, holiday care and intensive literacy classes.  

Near the rooftop classroom are the slides and tunnels that were built when the school introduced infants. 

Our rooftop has been supported by donors to the building fund over many years. The enclosing of the classroom came about from a rooftop campaign, and in 2005, ‘The Rooftop Renovation Rescue’ was launched as part of the 120th anniversary celebrations.  Over 1,439 longitude and latitude coordinates were defined to encourage parents to ‘buy’ a square and make a permanent mark on our school, replacing painful rooftop flooring with a modern, acceptable surface. This needed to be replaced again in 2014/5, which was done thanks to the generosity of our Association of Parents and Friends. The rooftop is our largest, most used and much-loved space and in 2022, we are looking again to rejuvenate– after all it is not just a playground.