St Patrick's College, Strathfield
| St Patrick's College | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Location | |
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Strathfield, New South Wales Australia |
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| Information | |
| Type | Private, Single-sex, Day school |
| Motto |
Latin: Luceat Lux Vestra (Matthew 5:16:"Let Your Light Shine") |
| Denomination | Roman Catholic, Christian Brothers |
| Established | 1928 |
| Founder | P I Hickey |
| Chairman | Peter Tilbrook |
| Headmaster | Craig Wattam |
| Chaplain | Jack Evans |
| Staff | ~140 |
| Enrolment | ~1,440 (5–12) |
| Colour(s) | Blue, Black and Gold |
| Website | spc.nsw.edu.au |
St Patrick's College, also referred to informally as "SPC", is an Australian independent Roman Catholic day school for boys located in Strathfield in the inner west of Sydney.
Founded as a Christian Brothers school in the tradition of Edmund Rice in 1928, the college currently caters for approximately 1430 students from Years 5 to 12.
St Patrick's College is a member of the Independent Schools Association (ISA), the Association of Heads of Independent Schools of Australia (AHISA), and the Junior School Heads Association of Australia (JSHAA).
In 1926 Christian Brothers’ Provincial, Br P I Hickey had the vision of building a new Catholic boys school on the outskirts of Strathfield. More specifically he proposed that this school be built within the perimeter of the Christian Brothers’ Training College, ‘Mount St Mary’ and would thereby serve as an ideal practising school for student Brothers training there. 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. Br Hickey remained undeterred however and pushed ahead with his building plans.
St Patrick's College was founded on January 20, 1928 and was officially blessed and opened by Dr 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, Br 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. Today enrolment at the College exceeds 1,400 students.
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 Br J Giacon as Principal in 1992 the time had come to appoint a lay Principal, the first in any Christian Brothers’ school in NSW. And so in 1993, after an extensive process, Mr Grahame Smollett was given the responsibility of leading the College into a new era. He was to remain in office for the next 15 years, making him the longest serving Principal in the College’s history.
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