St Patrick's College, Strathfield

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St Patrick's College
A view of St Patrick's College from Kessel Square, in 2007
Location
Wikimedia | © OpenStreetMap
Strathfield, Inner West Sydney New South Wales Australia
Coordinates	33°52′25″S 151°04′32″E / 33.873615°S 151.075632°E / -33.873615; 151.075632Coordinates: 33°52′25″S 151°04′32″E / 33.873615°S 151.075632°E / -33.873615; 151.075632
Information
Other name	SPC; St Pats; Pats
Type	Independent primary and secondary day school
Motto	Latin: Luceat Lux Vestra (Matthew 5:16: Let Your Light Shine)
Religious affiliation(s)	Catholicism
Denomination	Congregation of Christian Brothers
Patron saint(s)	Edmund Ignatius Rice
Established	1928; 93 years ago (1928)
Founder	Patrick Ignatius Hickey
Sister school	Santa Sabina College
Educational authority	New South Wales Department of Education
Trust	Edmund Rice Education Australia
Chairperson	Caroline Butler-Bowdon
Principal	Dr Vittoria Lavorato
Chaplain	Fr Jack Evans
Staff	~140
Years offered	5–12
Gender	Boys
Enrolment	c. 1,450 (2020)
Houses	Berg (white) Coghlan (gold) Crichton (black) Hanrahan (red) Hickey (green) Rice (blue)
Colour(s)	Blue, black and gold
Affiliations	Independent Schools Association Association of Heads of Independent Schools of Australia Junior School Heads Association of Australia Independent Sporting Association
Website	www.spc.nsw.edu.au

St Patrick's College (known colloquially as SPC or St Pats), is an independent Catholic primary and secondary day school for boys, located in Strathfield, an inner western suburb of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. Founded in 1928 by the Congregation of Christian Brothers, the school operates in the tradition of Edmund Rice and is administered by Edmund Rice Education Australia. As of 2007, the College catered for approximately 1,430 students from Year 5 to Year 12.^[1]

St Patrick's College is a member of the Independent Schools Association, the Association of Heads of Independent Schools of Australia,^[2] and the Junior School Heads Association of Australia.^[3] In 2015 Business Insider Australia listed the college as an exclusive school for boys in Sydney, just short of the top ten in the city.^[4]

History[]

In 1926 Christian Brothers’ Provincial, P I Hickey had the vision of building a new Catholic boys school on the outskirts of Strathfield. He proposed that the school be built within the perimeter of the Christian Brothers’ Training College, ‘Mount St Mary’ and would thereby serve as a practising school for student Brothers training there.

Breen Oval c. 1941

The idea was met with some criticism, mainly due to the remoteness of the area which was largely surrounded by bush and cattle tracks, had little road access, and was situated a fair distance away from local railway stations. Hickey remained undeterred and pushed ahead with his building plans.^[5]

St Patrick's College was founded on 20 January 1928 and was officially opened by M Kelly, Archbishop of Sydney. Thirty nine students were enrolled and split into three grades to be taught by Brothers L S Carroll, P K Kent and J R Crichton. The acting Principal in this first year was Provincial Consulter and Master of Method, M B Hanrahan. The school itself consisted of six large classrooms, and four other rooms designed for Physics, Chemistry, Art and technical training such as Woodwork. At the end of the first year over 100 students were enrolled at St Patrick's College.^[5]

Towards the end of the 1980s, there was a steady decline in the number of Christian Brothers teaching within Edmund Rice Schools such as St Patrick's. After the departure of J Giacon as principal in 1992 the first lay principal in any Christian Brothers’ school in NSW was appointed, Grahame Smollett, who became the longest serving principal in the college's history.^[5]

Principals[]

The following individuals have served as Principal of St Patrick's College, Strathfield:

^note 1 : Dr Craig Wattam finished at the conclusion of Term 3, 2020. He was replaced by Damian Chase for the final term.

College houses[]

The system dates back to the 1930s when boys were placed into four coloured houses for the annual swimming and athletic carnivals; red, gold, green and blue.^[7] During the 1970s the College expanded the four houses to six and named each after a significant person whose presence at the college had been pivotal to its evolvement. A further development was made in 1996 when on the beatification of Edmund Rice, Founder of the Christian Brothers, Power house was changed to Rice house.^[7]

In 2012 the College Cup was launched and redefined the way in which the house system is used at St Patrick's College. To foster healthy competition amongst the boys, house points are awarded throughout the school year based on an individual's efforts in areas of academic achievement, co-curricular involvement and school spirit. These are then tallied with the results from the swimming and athletic carnivals and a house is declared the overall winner.^[7]

Berg House pays tribute to the values and contribution made to the college by Brian Berg, the first Old Boy Brother to teach at St Patrick's. Brian Berg completed his Leaving Certificate at SPC in 1948 and entered into the Christian Brothers in 1950.^[8] Coghlan House honours the memory of Coghlan, Principal of St Patrick's College for two terms, 1936–1941 and 1945–1950.^[9]

Crichton House is named after John Rewi Crichton, who, for many years, was a teacher at St Patrick's College.^[10] Hanrahan House recognises the efforts of educationist Michael Benignus Hanrahan., the first Principal of St Patrick's College.^[11]

Hickey House honours a man who holds a significant place in the college's history, Patrick Ignatius Hickey.^[12] Rice house pays tribute to founder, Edmund Rice.^[13]

Co-curriculum[]

The school competes in such activities as rugby union, cricket, baseball, soccer, swimming, basketball, softball, golf, athletics and tennis in the Independent Sporting Association competition and against CAS and GPS member schools. The junior school also competes in an AFL tournament in a local comp that plays on Friday nights.

The college performs an annual musical and drama production featuring its students and others from Santa Sabina College.^[14]

The college competes annually with the nearby Trinity Grammar School for the Black and Green Shield which was conceived in 2005. It is based on the cumulative results of all winter sports games (rugby and football) between the schools on a designated weekend. The college has taken the shield each year since its inception, bar one.

Other annual sporting events include the junior school's rugby tour to Armidale where two rugby teams compete against those from other schools and colleges from New South Wales and Queensland, the Christian Brothers Schools' Cricket Carnival held during the Christmas holidays at St. Joseph's Nudgee College in Brisbane, which the college has won three times, in 1995, 2009 and 2014.

The school is a founding member of the Catholic Schools Debating Association (CSDA). One of the shields for premiers is named after a long-serving deputy headmaster, Michael Robson, for his decades of service to the association.

College anthem[]

The College anthem was composed in 1958, with words by Br Robert Charles Hill and music by Br Colin Declan Smith – both members of the SPC community. A choir of over 600 voices first performed it at Speech Night in the Sydney Town Hall in 1958.^[15]

College crest[]

The college's crest was designed in 1938 and is made up of three components:

• Shield: With its chevrons and bars it is a symbol of strength and fortitude
• Motto: Those who wear the crest pledge fidelity to the college motto Luceat Lux Vestra, Latin for "Let Your Light Shine".
• Star: Seen mounting the crest, it signifies that the college lights the way to knowledge and to the God.^[16]

Alumni[]

St Patrick's alumni are traditionally known as "Old Boys",^[17] the St Patrick's alumni association being called the Old Boys' Union.

The reinvigoration of the St Patrick's College Old Boys’ Association (SPOB) in 2016 provides a contact point for several different Old Boy sporting clubs like Cricket, Rugby and Football and other special interest groups such as returned servicemen, careers and the Vestra Bursary Fund.^[18]

St Patricks Rugby Club[]

St Patrick's Rugby Club was established in 1964 as a rugby league club as that was the code of football played at the college at the time. In 1965 the college changed to rugby union, the club followed suit the following year and entered the Western Suburbs Under 20 competition. The club originally played in a white jersey with black collar and now play in a black jumper with a gold collar, as does the college First XV. The club plays in the New South Wales Suburban Rugby Union and has won four club championships and two first grade premierships. Since its promotion to Kentwell Cup First Division in 1974 is one of only two clubs to never have been relegated. The club plays its home games at Hudson Park, Strathfield.^[17][19]

Notable alumni[]

See also[]

• List of Catholic schools in New South Wales
• Catholic education in Australia

References[]

External links[]

• Official website