Chanel College (Geelong)

Chanel College was a Roman Catholic school for boys in Geelong, Victoria, Australia. Founded in 1958, it closed in 1999. The site was later purchased by the Geelong Baptist College.

The school was founded in 1958 by the Marist Fathers, and established on the site of what is now Pettitt Park, in the Geelong suburb of Bell Post Hill.

The school's founding rector was Father Stanley Hosie SM, MA, STL. Originally a school for day boys, from the start of 1962 the school took in boarders from Australia and Malaysia (notably Robert Tan and Matthew Chee). Whilst day students were still enrolled, the focus of the school was on boarding students.

In mid 1963, the school relocated to a newly-built complex at Lovely Banks, near Geelong, under the guidance and direction of the schools' second rector, the Very Rev Father Stephen Maloney SM, BA, MACE. Fr Maloney was a very highly-regarded and respected teacher at the school.

The Bell Post Hill site ("Old Chanel") became a boarding house for the junior boarders. The senior boarders were housed in two boarding houses at Lovely Banks: Braemar, named after the original Lovely Banks property, and Futuna, named after the Island on which Peter Chanel met his death.

The Marists encouraged independent thinking and resourcefulness in their students. To this end, the school magazine "Champion" (Chanel Monthly Publication) was commenced in 1965. It was produced completely from student copy, and was also edited by the students. Controversial content was included, such as comment on the need for the celebration of ANZAC day, a topic often discussed in the broader community at the time, as well as student submissions including poetry and essays, satire, scientific discourse and so on. The school established an innovative and effective SRC in the early years. Throughout the early and mid 1960's, students learned valuable lessons from the SRC, but it was less successful from about 1969. The Marists expected much of students elected to the SRC, but these students were given little training in leadership and in many cases little or no encouragement. Some would argue that the SRC at Chanel was largely ineffective, with time-consuming class meetings.

Unique for schools in Australia at the time, Chanel established a Science Club in 1964, to encourage students to become interested in science. The club met weekly and students gave presentations on various scientific subjects, or viewed and discussed films of a scientific nature. From time to time external guest speakers were invited to address the club. An annual feature of the club was the science exhibition, which showcased the study of science at Chanel. The Science Club also sponsored end of term excursions to such places as Perth, Cairns, Woomera, Tasmania and the Snowy Mountains.

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