In previous years, attendance of secondary-age students at Maningrida had declined to a mere handful. And so, at the start of 1976, it was decided to make secondary education at Maningrida a priority within the school.

To this end, money and effort were directed towards the setting up of a secondary unit. The main objective was to increase the number of secondary students attending school. We tried to do this by encouraging those adolescents who were not otherwise employed in the settlement to come along to school, and to see whether or not the secondary unit offered them a desirable alternative.