Established in 1913 by Winifred West,[2] the school has a non-selective enrolment policy and currently caters for approximately 300 students from Years 7 to 12, including 222 boarders.

In 1912, they returned to Australia to begin the search for a suitable site, preferably a country region with an invigorating climate, within a reasonable distance of Sydney.

[citation needed] In 1941, Miss West established the Sturt Craft Centre for local students, teaching weaving, spinning and carpentry as a community service.

Today, Sturt also hosts annual Summer and Winter schools focussing on the arts in January and July.

[citation needed] The Sturt School for Wood was established in 1985, and runs full-time courses for designer makers of fine furniture.

In the mid 1970s, Frensham established a mass recruitment advertising campaign to achieve an increase in attendance, as the school faced unfavourable outcomes in net profit.