A 1,000-acre (4.0 km2) site was put aside in Sunbury following the implementation of the Neglected and Criminal Children's Act of 1864.
The school consisted of ten large, unheated, bluestone buildings arranged in two rows of five.
The open and exposed position of the buildings led to frequent illness and constant poor health of the children.
The children were given rancid food, that they ate in their own rooms that by the time they received it, was cold.
The children were given only a little water, no bedding, save for a blanket and many affected by Ophthalmia, went untreated, resulting in blindness.