Established in 1981, CAPS opened under the initiative of a group of Aboriginal parents and people, many who had been raised in the Goldfields on the Mount Margaret Mission. CAPS founding members have created a nurturing environment to foster the spiritual and educational growth of their children (students). Their aim was simple, to offer the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Island children the same high academic standards they had received as students. However, its reach is also interstate and cross cultural. CAPS is a pre-kindergarten to year 12 education facility providing for day and hostel (high school only).