St Bede's College (Mentone)

St Bede's College is a Catholic secondary school for boys in the Melbourne suburb of Mentone. The College was founded in 1938 by the De La Salle Brothers, a religious order based on the teachings of Jean-Baptiste de la Salle, and is a member of the Associated Catholic Colleges, the Council of International Schools and the International Boys' School Coalition.

St Bede's College
see caption
St Bede's College crest
Address
Map
2 Mentone Parade

,
3194

Coordinates37°59′28″S 145°4′3″E / 37.99111°S 145.06750°E / -37.99111; 145.06750
Information
TypeIndependent Catholic
MottoLatin: Per Vias Rectas
(By Right Paths)
DenominationCatholic (Lasallian)
Established1938
ChairKeiren Tilbrook
PrincipalDeborah Frizza
Years7–12 (Mentone campus)
7–9 (Bentleigh East campus)[1]
GenderBoys
Enrolment1,950[1]
Colour(s)Blue, red, gold      
AffiliationAssociated Catholic Colleges
Websitewww.stbedes.catholic.edu.au

The College has two campuses: one in Mentone that accommodates students from Years 7 to 12, and a middle years campus in Bentleigh East, tailored to students in Years 7 to 9.

St Bede's College attracts students from Mentone and surrounding suburbs, and Bentleigh East and surrounds.

History

edit
 
School photo, c. 1930s (boarder's matron in white, seated)

The College was founded in 1938 at Mentone Beach, by the Institute of the Brothers of the Christian Schools, or De La Salle Order of Brothers, also known as The French Christian Brothers. The Brothers built the college overlooking Mentone Beach which opened in February, 1938. The Order had purchased a property which included a Victorian homestead, "the McCristal Estate", that had been used by Mentone Girls Grammar School since the early 1920s. From its inception, St Bede's was a day and boarding school until 1998. [2][3] It remains an independent school in the Lasallian and Catholic tradition.

The school was named after St. Bede the Venerable, a 7th-century Benedictine monk and priest, who spent his life teaching and writing at Jarrow Abbey, and who was the first English historian, famous for his publication of Ecclesiastical History of the English People.

As a boarding school its bailiwick was statewide and encompassed southern New South Wales, and internationally from South East Asia, the South Pacific and the expat community. Its ethos is that of an essentially middle class institution, with an emphasis on athleticism, religion, and discipline. It now comprises approximately 1950 day students.[3][4]

In 2021, the former St James College in Bentleigh East became a campus of St Bede's.[5]

Following the Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse allegations of sexual abuse between 1975 and 1985 at the (Bentleigh East) College were made.[6]

Curriculum

edit

St Bede's College offers its senior students the Victorian Certificate of Education (VCE) and VCE Vocational Major.

VCE results 2012–2023[7]
Year Rank Median study score Scores of 40+ (%) Cohort size
2012 143 31 6.9 352
2013 105 32 9.5 345
2014 138 31 7.9 329
2015 143 31 7.6 372
2016 118 31 9.9 347
2017 141 31 7.9 349
2018 170 30 7.8 333
2019 178 30 6.3 326
2020 183 30 5.9 358
2021 190 30 6.4 347
2022 261 29 4.2 338
2023 125 31 8.3 343

Technology

edit

In 2016, the College's F1 in Schools team, Infinitude, set the World Record at the World Finals in Austin, Texas, in collaboration with Brighton Secondary School, Adelaide.[8]

In this same year, a team of students successfully won the Australian STEM Video Game Challenge in the Year 9–12 Gamemaker/Gamestar Mechanic category with their game Spectrum.[9]

Principals

edit
  • Br Simon Staunton: 1937–1938
  • Br Julian Lennon: 1939–1947
  • Br Colman Molloy: 1948–1952 and 1959–1965[10]
  • Br Finian Allman: 1953–1957[10]
  • Br Stanislaus Carmody: 1966–1967
  • Br Peter McIntosh: 1968–1973[10][11]
  • Br William Firman: 1974–1987[10][11]
  • Br Kevin Moloney: 1988
  • Br Quentin O'Halloran: 1989–1998[10][11]
  • Br Kenneth Ormerod: 1999–2006[10][12][13]
  • Br Garry Coyte: 2007–2017[14][15]
  • John Finn: 2018–2021[16]
  • Deborah Frizza: 2022–current[17]

Sport

edit

St Bede's is a member of the Associated Catholic Colleges (ACC).

ACC premierships & championships

edit

St Bede's has won the following ACC first division senior premierships and first division aggregate championships:[18]

  • Aggregate (3) – 2003, 2022, 2023
  • Athletics (8) – 1958, 1961, 1962, 1966, 1969, 1970, 1986, 1987
  • Basketball (10) – 1978, 1981, 1982, 1983, 1986, 1988, 1996, 2002, 2003, 2015
  • Cricket (32) – 1958, 1963, 1964, 1965, 1966, 1967, 1968, 1974, 1976, 1977, 1985, 1987, 1988, 1991, 1992, 1994, 1995, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2004, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2012, 2013, 2015, 2019, 2022, 2023
  • Cross Country (24) – 1976, 1977, 1978, 1979, 1980, 1981, 1983, 1984, 1985, 1986, 1987, 1988, 1989, 1995, 1996, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2010, 2016, 2018, 2019, 2022, 2023
  • Football (16) – 1953, 1961, 1962, 1964, 1966, 1967, 1968, 1975, 1977, 1978, 1983, 1992, 1993, 1996, 2011, 2019
  • Handball (4) – 1943, 1944, 1945, 1947
  • Hockey (16) – 1983, 1984, 1985, 1986, 1987, 1988, 1990, 1991, 1992, 1995, 1996, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2016, 2022
  • Soccer (6) – 1987, 1993, 1996, 2011, 2012, 2023
  • Swimming (15) – 1984, 1986, 1987, 1988, 1989, 1990, 1991, 2007, 2009, 2010, 2013, 2020, 2021, 2022, 2023
  • Table Tennis (1) – 2023
  • Tennis (13) – 1978, 1979, 1981, 1982, 1989, 1990, 1991, 1996, 1999, 2002, 2003, 2006, 2023
  • Triathlon (4) – 2016, 2017, 2019, 2023
  • Golf (23) – 1988, 1989, 1990, 1991, 1992, 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2012

Alumni

edit

Business

edit

Law, academia, politics and advocacy

edit

Creative arts and entertainment

edit

Sport

edit

Priests and religious

edit
  • Most Rev. Christopher Saunders, DD, DCL – Bishop of Broome
  • Fr Michael Buck, Assistant Priest & Master of Ceremonies – St Patrick's Cathedral Melbourne

See also

edit

References

edit
  1. ^ a b "Principal's Welcome". St Bede's College.
  2. ^ "Tragedy Mars the Opening of St Bede's". Kingston Local History. 2020. Retrieved 3 April 2020.
  3. ^ a b "About St Bede's College: History". St Bede's College. Retrieved 25 July 2016.
  4. ^ "Mentone schools: Why Are There So Many?". Kingston Local History. 2020. Retrieved 3 April 2020.
  5. ^ Amalgamation of St. James College Bentleigh East into the operations of St. Bede’s College Mentone St Bede's College Retrieved 31 January 2021
  6. ^ https://www.heraldsun.com.au/victoria-education/former-st-bedes-college-students-urged-to-come-forward-over-historic-abuse-allegations/news-story/5c69aef6cff3f27da83a6c29718fe990?amp
  7. ^ "Trend of St Bede's College by VCE results". bettereducation.com.au. Retrieved 17 December 2023.
  8. ^ "Australia set new record at F1 in Schools World Finals". Formula1.com. Retrieved 11 February 2017.
  9. ^ ACER. "Winners | STEM Video Game Challenge | Australia". www.stemgames.org.au. Retrieved 17 March 2017.
  10. ^ a b c d e f "Roll of Honour". St Bede's College. Retrieved 14 July 2024.
  11. ^ a b c "SBOCA Roll of Honour inductees 2013" (PDF). February 2018.
  12. ^ Woudstra, John (16 July 2004). "Brother Ken Ormerod, principle of St. Bedes College in Mentone coaching senior students at basketball".
  13. ^ "The District Council: Exercising Leadership Today | DeLaSalle". www.delasalle.org.au. Retrieved 14 July 2024.
  14. ^ "MACS - Melbourne Archdiocese Catholic Schools | Lighting Their Path". www.macs.vic.edu.au. Retrieved 14 July 2024.
  15. ^ "St Bedes College Yearbook 2017" (PDF). February 2018.
  16. ^ "St Bedes Yearbook 2018" (PDF). September 2019.
  17. ^ "Principal's Welcome". St Bede's College. Retrieved 14 July 2024.
  18. ^ "Premiers & Champions – Associated Catholic Colleges". Retrieved 30 January 2021.
  19. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x y z aa ab ac ad ae af ag ah "Hall of Fame". St Bede's College. Archived from the original on 19 February 2017.
  20. ^ "Peter McTigue OAM | Chemistry Education Association". Archived from the original on 2 March 2019. Retrieved 12 March 2019.
  21. ^ About Nick. nickstaikos.com.au. Retrieved 27 August 2015
  22. ^ "The International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons wins Nobel Peace Prize".
  23. ^ https://www.stbedes.catholic.edu.au/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/BedaBoy-June-2020-FINAL-1.pdf [bare URL PDF]
  24. ^ Donovan, Patrick (7 May 2010). "British India: Avalanche". The Sydney Morning Herald.
  25. ^ "Vale Liam Davison". 23 July 2014.
  26. ^ O'Brien, Mary (12 June 2015). "Eddie Perfect's secret Melbourne: an exploration of middle-class life". The Sydney Morning Herald.
  27. ^ https://www.stbedes.catholic.edu.au/wp-content/uploads/2018/01/01385.pdf [bare URL PDF]
edit