St Mary's College (formerly Christian Brothers College, St Kilda, Presentation College, Windsor) is an independent Catholic co-educational secondary college, located in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. The school was founded in 1878 and is both one of the oldest private schools in Melbourne and one of the only co-educational Catholic schools in inner Melbourne.
Originally founded as Christian Brothers College, St Kilda (CBC St Kilda), and run by the Christian Brothers, the school has long since had a lay teaching and administrative staff; becoming co-educational as St Mary's College in 2021 following the closure of Presentation College Windsor (PCW).
The college is governed by Edmund Rice Education Australia and is also members of Associated Catholic Colleges and Catholic Girls Sports Association of Victoria.
Contents
History
St Mary's College was founded as Christian Brothers College St Kilda, a Catholic single-sex boys school in 1878. Its former sister school, Presentation College Windsor, was founded in 1873 as a Catholic single-sex girls school.
Founding & single-sex education
In 1872, the parish priest of St Mary's Parish, Dr James Corbett wrote to the Presentation Sisters and Christian Brothers, calling for their assistance in providing Catholic education in the precinct, following the passing of the Educational Act of 1872 and the establishment of a nearby state school.
The Presentation Sisters arrived in 1873, founding Presentation Convent Windsor (later Presentation College Windsor) and running the pre-existing St Mary's Primary School.
The Christian Brothers arrived in 1878, founding Christian Brothers College St Kilda as well as the former St Mary's Boys School; a single-sex primary school located directly west to the CBC site, which ran until 1986 and is now operated by the co-educational St Mary's Primary School East St Kilda for its Specialist Campus. A plaque commemorating the boys school is located on the building.
Both colleges operated as separate single-sex schools for nearly 150 years, with VCE classes being shared between both colleges since 1991.
CBC was governed and operated by the Christian Brothers until the first lay principal being Mr Gerald Bain-King in 2005, and the college ceding its governance in 2007 to Edmund Rice Education Australia, an organisation that governs schools previously administered by the Christian Brothers in Australia at the time and continues to govern St Mary's College.
PCW was governed by the Presentation Sisters until their closure.
Co-education
In 2019, following the announcement of Presentation College Windsor's closure at the end of 2020, CBC St Kilda announced it would reregister from a single-sex boys school to a co-educational school that would operate across both sites.
On 23 November 2020, CBC St Kilda announced the change of name to St Mary's College Melbourne, beginning operation as a Catholic co-educational college in 2021.
On 2 October 2023, the college announced that the lease on Presentation Campus (owned by the Presentation Sisters) will be terminated in September 2024 to allow more funding to be dedicated to capital works on the Edmund Rice Campus without having to raise tuition fees. These capital works were constructed from November 2023, and up to the closure of Presentation Campus in September 2024.
Curriculum
St Mary's College offers its senior (years 10–12) students the following pathways:
Scored Victorian Certificate of Education (VCE)
Unscored Victorian Certificate of Education*
VCE Vocational Major*
VET, via external providers.†
Victorian Pathways Certificate
* Does not allow for study scores or an ATAR to be calculated.
† Can be completed alongside Scored/Unscored VCE, and must be completed with the VCE VM program.
Campuses
St Mary's College has one campus, the Edmund Rice Campus. Formerly, the college also utilised the old site of Presentation College Windsor as a campus for students in years 9, 11, and 12.
Edmund Rice Campus
Located on 11 Westbury Street, St Kilda East as the original site of CBC St Kilda, the Edmund Rice Campus is the home-campus for all year levels.
The site was originally established by the Christian Brothers in 1878.
Presentation Campus
Located on 187 Dandenong Road, Windsor as the original site of Presentation College Windsor, the Presentation Campus was the home-campus for Years 9, 11 and 12.
The Year 9 Nobilitas Program was operated on this campus in the Rahilly Centre.
The site was originally founded by the Presentation Sisters in 1873.
Presentation Campus closed on September 20, 2024.
Houses
The St Mary's College houses were established in 1955 in honour of previous principals of CBC St Kilda.
Sport
St Mary's College is a founding member of the Associated Catholic Colleges (ACC) and a member the Catholic Girls Sports Association of Victoria (CGSAV).
ACC premierships
St Mary's College has won the following ACC premierships.
Athletics (16) – 1918, 1919, 1920, 1923, 1927, 1935, 1942, 1950, 1951, 1952, 1953, 1954, 1957, 1960, 1968, 1971
Basketball (1) – 2014
Chess Division 1 (1) – 1998
Chess Division 2 (2) – 2007, 2018
Cricket Seniors 1st XI (12) – 1932, 1933, 1935, 1936, 1937, 1940, 1941, 1942, 1944, 1948, 1967, 1974
Cricket T20 Division 2 (3) – 2020, 2021, 2023
Cross Country Division 1 (2) – 1974, 1975
Cross Country Division 2 (13) – 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2016
Debating Junior Division 2 (3) – 2002, 2007, 2022
Football (AFL) Division 1 (14) – 1933, 1934, 1936, 1937, 1941, 1949, 1951, 1952, 1956, 1958, 1959, 1963, 1969, 1971
Football (AFL) Division 2 (5) – 1992, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2021
Golf Open Division 2 (8) – 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2009, 2021
Handball (1) – 1953
Hockey (3) – 1982, 2007, 2011
Soccer Seniors Division 1 (4) – 1978, 1987, 1997, 2007
Soccer Seniors Division 2 (2) – 2019, 2021
Notable alumni
The arts, media and entertainment
John Burns – radio presenter
Peter Corrigan – architect
Frank Howson – scriptwriter and film director
Richard Hughes – journalist, foreign correspondent in Asia
Daniel Keene – playwright
Eddie McGuire – television personality, former CEO of the Nine Network
Bob Maguire – priest, community worker and media personality
Felix Mallard – actor and musician
Barry Oakley – writer and former literary editor of The Australian newspaper
Daryl Somers – television personality
Kevin Summers – actor, playwright
Gerard Vaughan – director of the National Gallery of Australia
Morris West – writer
John Lyons - Americas Editor of the ABC and former editor of the Sydney Morning Herald
Business
Paul Gardner – former chairman of Grey Global, chairman of the Melbourne Football Club
Robert James Thomson – editor-in-chief of Dow Jones & Company and the managing editor of The Wall Street Journal, and former editor of The Times