 The stonework of the original 1830s school building and its eastern wing is evidence of the relatively high level skills of the Scottish artisans who were brought to Australia following the depression in the British construction industry in the 1820s.The site is one of two surviving examples along the Parramatta River of the picturesque siting principles of the 18th and 19th centuries by which large building groups were sited on the brow of a hill overlooking sloping land bordering a river.The site is evidence of the role of major social institutions in the evolution of the physical and cultural framework of the regional town of Parramatta during the nineteenth century.