When the school opened, the site was completely undeveloped.  It consisted of sandstone ridges and bogs (Epping's early name was Barren Ridges) with three buildings - Science Block, Manual Arts Block and the Tuck shop , which was not finished.  For the next three years the building went on and lessons were given in the classrooms to the background noises of jackhammers, bulldozers and other such sounds.  By the end of 1958 the majority of the buildings except the assembly hall were completed.  On 17 March 1959 the school was officially opened by the Minister for Education.

The site originally consisted of eleven rocky, arid, plateau acres which hardly supported a blade of grass.  Patches of bog and very uneven ground necessitated much drainage and filling.  These eleven acres were soon seen to be too small for the school - which had over one thousand two hundred students by 1962.  Therefore, the area leading to Vimiera Road was bought for the school.  Later, when it came on the market, an old orchard below the school was also bought by the Education Department using 3,000 pounds raised by the P&C.

These two areas, together with the main school grounds, finally measured twenty-two acres.  It all needed a great deal of work to bring it into a condition where they could be used by the boys at the school.

The work was done by parents, teachers and students.  Tons of earth and rocks were dug, cut, carried, re-located, smoothed out, landscaped, grassed and planted with trees.  Due to hard work and dedication, the grounds became particularly attractive, and eventually won first prize in the Northern Zone of the Herald Gardening Competition in 1969 and second prize in 1970.

In 1966 the school buildings were further extended with the building of a new Manual Arts Block and the Ron Learmonth Block.  The Ron Learmonth Block was, for several years, only used for senior classes.  Although it was then used for all classes including juniors, it is now known as the Senior Block.

In the 1960's student squads were organised in House teams to maintain the grounds and by 1971, five hundred and fifty-three trees had been planted.  The boys of the 1982 Year 10 Transition class were responsible for the paved barbecue area sited below the PE change rooms.

The library was completed in 1972.  In 1979, students from Years 8-10 Industrial Arts, built Millamurra as a field unit for environmental studies.  This took eighteen months to build and was assisted by a $10,000 grant.

Today, we are able to appreciate the foresight and hard work of the Epping pioneers.  The numerous trees and shrubs, together with well maintained lawns provide a park-like setting, unique amongst Sydney state schools.