| Xavier College | |
| Country: | Australia |
| Type: | Private Independent, Roman Catholic day and boarding Coeducational Basic education institution |
| Motto: | Sursum Corda (Latin) Lift up your hearts |
| Chairman: | Anthony Nunan |
| Rector: | Fr. Chris Middleton SJ |
| Principal: | William Doherty[1] |
| Grades Label: | Years |
| Gender: | Co-educational (Kindergarten), Boys (F–12) |
| Students: | 1,802 |
| Colours: | and |
| Affiliations: | IPSHA APS AHISA ABSA JACSA |
Xavier College is a Roman Catholic, day and boarding school predominantly for boys, founded in 1872 by the Society of Jesus, with its main campus located in Kew, an eastern suburb of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. Classes started in 1878.
The college is part of the international network of Jesuit schools begun in Messina, Sicily in 1548. Originally an all-boys school, the College now offers a co-education Kindergarten, and an all-boys environment from Foundation to Year 12. In 2011, the school had 2,085 students on roll,[2] including 76 boarders.
The school is in the Archdiocese of Melbourne,[3] and is affiliated with the Independent Primary School Heads of Australia (IPSHA) formerly the Junior School Heads Association of Australia (JSHAA),[4] the Association of Heads of Independent Schools of Australia (AHISA),[5] the Australian Boarding Schools' Association (ABSA),[6] and the Associated Public Schools of Victoria (APS).[7]
In December 2010, The Age reported that, on the number of alumni who had received a top Order of Australia honour, Xavier College ranked equal tenth among Australian schools.[8]
Grant Thomas described the school as "the best-connected school in Melbourne".[9] Its notable alumni include one archbishop, two state governors, one deputy prime minister, one state premier, three deputy premiers, one High Court justice and numerous Supreme Court justices.
What is now called "The Senior Campus" is located on Barkers Road in Kew, 8 kilometres (5 miles) from the centre of Melbourne. The foundation stone of the campus was laid in 1872 and the school began formally in 1878 on land known originally as Mornane's Paddock. Founded as a Jesuit school, it was originally named St Francis Xavier's College. Construction continued during the school's early years, with the main oval added in 1883, and the West Wing and Great Hall in 1890.[10] In 1900, Xavier replaced St Patrick's College in East Melbourne as the only Catholic institution among the six Associated Public Schools at that time.[3] A Memorial Chapel on the Senior Campus was constructed in memory of Old Xaverians killed in World War I, opening in 1934.
In 1993, a multi-purpose sports centre, the Stephenson Centre (since renamed), was opened. A science facility and the Eldon Hogan Performing Arts Centre opened on the campus in 2008, with eleven science laboratories, a music rehearsal room, and a 500-seat auditorium.[11]
At his appointment as principal in October 1997, Chris McCabe was the first lay head of a Jesuit school in Australia.[12] On his retirement at the end of 2008,[13] the post was filled by Chris Hayes, the former principal at St Edmund's, Canberra.[14]
Some buildings on the Senior Campus,[15] and Studley House at the Burke Hall Campus,[16] are listed on the Victorian Heritage Register.
Xavier has a long-standing rivalry with St Kevin's College, in legal circles, an Old Xaverian Supreme Court judge quipping that 'You boys who were taught by the Brothers can never aspire to the Supreme Court. Positions on that Bench are reserved for those of us who were taught by the Jesuits'.[17]
The foundation stone reads:
After existing in some form for several decades, in 1977, the system of inter-house sport and activities was restructured. Each house was assigned a housemaster and seven tutors. Boys are split up into these seven tutor groups within each house and the tutor group meets each day with the tutor acting as mentor during their four-year attendance. House meetings take place around once a week, lockers are organised according to house and several inter-house sporting events are held each year.[21] In 1991, the houses, previously known by their colour, were given names. and in 2010, the new houses of MacKillop and Regis were added.
| House | Named after | Motto | Premierships † | Number of Premierships | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bellarmine | Integrity In All | 1998, 2018 | 2 | ||
| Cheshire | No Call Ignored | 1992, 1997, 2021 | 3 | ||
| Claver | To Serve Not Be Served | 1995, 2004, 2009, 2010‡, 2016, 2017 | 6 | ||
| Gonzaga | No Greater Love | 1991, 1993, 1996, 2006, 2010‡, 2011 | 6 | ||
| Ignatius | To God Alone The Glory | — | — | ||
| MacKillop | Virtue Conquers All | 2012, 2015, 2020, 2023 | 4 | ||
| Mannix | Love One Another | 2000, 2014, 2022 | 3 | ||
| Regis | Courage Burns Within | — | — | ||
| Ricci | To Understand The Unknown | 1994, 1999, 2001, 2015 | 4 | ||
| Spinola | Always and Ever Faithful | 2003, 2005, 2007, 2008, 2013, 2019 | 6 |
† Unawarded 2001–2002.
‡ Gonzaga and Claver shared the 2010 Old Xaverians Trophy for the Champion House, having accumulated the same number of points throughout the year.
The six houses of Burke Hall had existed for many years as Hodgson, Ignatius, Studley, Surbiton, Trawalla, and Waverley.[22] In 1987, two new houses were added and with the exception of Ignatius, the houses were renamed. Due to the Year Seven and Eights moving to the Senior Campus in 2024, new houses will be made for the Junior School and will be implemented at the start of the 2024 school year.
| House | Named after | Motto | Premierships | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Aloysius | No Greater Love | 1999, 2005, 2008, 2009, 2023 | ||
| Campion | The Expense Is Reckoned | 1987‡, 1989, 1990, 1991, 1993, 1995, 1998, 2001, 2006‡, 2013, 2018, 2019 | ||
| Claver | Peter Claver | To Serve Not Be Served | 1988, 2010, 2022 | |
| Ignatius | To God Alone The Glory | 1992, 2012, 2014 | ||
| Loyola | And Not To Count The Cost | 2002, 2007, 2011 | ||
| Owen | Unless The Lord Builds | 2003, 2004, 2006‡ 2014 | ||
| Regis | Your Word My Light | 1994, 1997, 2016 | ||
| Southwell | Who Least Hath Some | 1987‡, 1996, 2000, 2017, 2020 |
‡ Tied premierships: 1987, 2006.
Upon its foundation in 2002, separate houses were created for the Early Years Centre students at Burke Hall.
| House | Named after | |
|---|---|---|
| Chisholm | Caroline Chisholm | |
| Favre | Peter Favre | |
| Berchmans | John Berchmans | |
| MacKillop | Mary MacKillop |
Awards commenced in 1971.
| House | Named after | Motto | Premierships | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Campion (formerly Tully House) | The Expense Is Reckoned | 1976, 1977, 1991, 1992, 1994, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007 | ||
| Claver (formerly Hackett House) | Peter Claver | To Serve Not Be Served | 1973, 1974, 1979, 1984, 1985, 1987, 1990, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2002, 2009 | |
| Owen (formerly Maritima House) | Unless The Lord Builds | 1972, 1975, 1981, 1982, 1986, 1989, 1995, 1996, 1997 | ||
| Regis (formerly Craig House) | Your Word My Light | 1971, 1978, 1980, 1983, 1988, 1993, 2001, 2008 |
Xavier offers its senior students the Victorian Certificate of Education (VCE). Thirty-three VCE subjects and five external VET studies are offered. Xavier is one of only fifteen schools in Victoria to offer Latin and one of only two schools which offer Ancient Greek, which it has done continuously since 1878. Xavier and sister school Genazzano FCJ College have collaborated to develop a cross curriculum appreciation of the Classics as seen in both school's Latin as a LOTE option. Xavier does not offer the International Baccalaureate.
Xavier has a strong academic history. For each of the past sixteen years (excluding 2009 and 2015) the Dux of the school received an ATAR score of 99.95, the highest possible. In 2008, 2010, 2011 and 2016, three students achieved this mark at Xavier out of 32 in the state.[23] In 2012, five students achieved the maximum ATAR of 99.95.
| 2012 | 37 | 34 | 21.4 | 458 | |
| 2013 | 63 | 33 | 18.8 | 451 | |
| 2014 | 64 | 33 | 17.8 | 468 | |
| 2015 | 69 | 33 | 16.6 | 442 | |
| 2016 | 67 | 33 | 14.1 | 430 | |
| 2017 | 66 | 33 | 15.0 | 399 | |
| 2018 | 53 | 34 | 17.0 | 391 | |
| 2019 | 56 | 34 | 16.2 | 417 | |
| 2020 | 45 | 34 | 19.2 | 399 |
The main activities include Sport, Music, Drama, Debating, and Community Service. Students may also join specific interest groups such as the Chess Club. Outdoor Education is compulsory in Years 5 to 10, and students spend up to one week at a range of venues, where they are given instruction in a variety of activities.
Students are encouraged to participate in community service, and a minimum amount of completed service hours is mandated. Each Friday evening Xavier students volunteer their time at a tutoring school in housing commission apartments in Richmond, where many residents are recent migrants or refugees. This activity is completed with students from the sister school Genazzano FCJ College.[25] Year 11 students are required to participate in an additional 35 hours while on a week-long community service placement.
In collaboration with Genazzano FCJ College, Xavier College participates in a community outreach program in conjunction with the combined parishes of Our Lady of Good Counsel, Deepdene, Sacred Heart, Kew and Immaculate Conception, Hawthorn. For the duration of one week, 12 students from the partnered schools participate in a community building program in Bourke, an Outback town of New South Wales.
From Year 8 and above, students have the opportunity to participate in the Toorak division of the Debaters Association of Victoria competition. The college also takes part in the annual Jesuit Schools' Debating Carnival competing with Aloysius, Ignatius Riverview, Ignatius Adelaide and Loyola Mt Druitt.
Sport is compulsory for all students at Xavier,[26] and in addition to cricket and Australian rules football, a range of sporting activities are offered includingathletics,badminton,basketball,cross country,hockey,lawn bowls,martial arts,rowing,rugby union,sailingsoccer,swimming,table tennis,tennis,triathlon,water polo, and volleyball.[27]
Cricket alongside rowing (colloquially known as XCBC) are the two biggest summer sports at the college. Two alumni who pursued careers in cricekt were Percy McDonnell (1860–1896) who captained the Australian Test team in six matches, including the tour of England in 1888, and Karl Schneider (1905–1928), who is described in Cricinfo as one of "the most naturally gifted batsmen to have graced the game".[28] While at the school, he played in the 1st XI for four years, three of which as captain. He broke the APS runs (1642) and wickets (139) records which remain unbroken, and captained Xavier to back-to-back premierships in 1923–24.[29]
Xavier has won the rowing APS Head of the River 5 times. Sixteen Xavier rowers have gone on to represent Australia, winning multiple Olympic and World Championship medals, including, among others, Peter Antonie, Michael McKay, Nick Green & Simon Keenan.
The school's Australian rules football team has produced numerous VFL/AFL players, and has won thirty football premierships, third of the APS schools behind Scotch (36) and Melbourne Grammar (35).[29] The Old Xaverians Football Club has also been successful in the Victorian Amateur Football Association (VAFA), winning eight premierships in the last decade.[30]
Along with football, the school's Old Xaverian community also links with the Old Xaverians Soccer Club and Old Xaverians Athletics Club.
Xavier has won the following APS premierships:[31]
Performing Arts have been part of the school's activities since 1929, with Musical Theatre/Operetta and Dramatic Plays having a shared focus in the college's co-curricular program. The school conducts an annual Senior Musical Production with Genazzano FCJ College[32] as well as the annual Winter Play and Spring Play, which has been performed in collaboration with Loreto Mandeville Hall since 2000. The two Junior Campuses also have Performing Arts and Dramatic programs, each staging a major production every year. With the development of both the Crypt Drama Studio, below the Memorial Chapel, in 1999 and the Eldon Hogan Performing Arts Centre, performing arts at the college has become an integral part in the school's co-curricular program.
The Yearly Senior Calendar includes:
The Maytime Fair has been held annually in May since 1952 and is hosted by Xavier College. It raises funds for the work of the Jesuit Mission, with support from friends and benefactors connected with schools, parishes, and other communities in Victoria and beyond. The annual fairs have been assisted by traditional sister school Genazzano FCJ College, and together, the two schools have provided a number of student-run stalls such as "Go Nuts for Donuts", a Fairy Tent and face-painting, amongst others.
Each stall and attraction at the Maytime Fair donates its profit to the work of Jesuit Mission. The Maytime Fair consistently contributes over $100,000 each year for work in the developing world, including India, Cambodia, East Timor and Myanmar.[33] In 2008 over $130,000 was raised, which was given to assist in the relief effort by Jesuit Missionaries in response to the 2008 Sichuan earthquake. In 2010, over $150,000 was raised, and in 2016 $260,000 was raised[34]
See main article: List of Old Xaverians. Alumni of Xavier College are known as Old Xaverians, and all former students become members the Old Xaverians' Association (OXA).[35]
In politics, academia and the law, Xavier's alumni include:
In other areas, notable Old Xaverians include:
In March 2013, a submission was made to Victoria's parliamentary inquiry into child sexual abuse about the alleged abuse of children in its care in the 1960s and 1970s.[36]
1st (19 awards) Scotch College, Melbourne
2nd (17 awards) Geelong Grammar School
3rd (13 awards) Sydney Boys High School
Equal 4th (10 awards each) Fort Street High School, Perth Modern School and St Peter's College, Adelaide
Equal 7th (9 awards each) Melbourne Grammar School, North Sydney Boys High School and The King's School, Parramatta
Equal 10th (6 awards each) Launceston Grammar School, Melbourne High School, Wesley College, Melbourne and Xavier College.