 The surrounding suburbs were rapidly developing and largely working-class with low retention in the Higher School Certificate, and even in its final years, more than half of its students were the first member of their family to study at tertiary level, and more than 60 percent from traditionally working-class suburbs of Sydney.It also had a large population of students from non-English-speaking backgrounds, and provided tertiary education that was geographically accessible, with the long commute to the centrally-located University of Sydney and University of New South Wales a deterrent for some students in the area.In 1982, it became the first institution in New South Wales to introduce a support program for indigenous students.