St Patrick’s College

The College was founded in 1893 by the Christian Brothers under the patronage of the Bishop of Ballarat, Dr James Moore. The College caters for both day and boarding students, The College is located on Sturt Street Ballarat and is part of a recognised education precinct with its close proximity to Ballarat Clarendon College, Loreto College and Ballarat High School.

The aim of the College is to support parents in educating their sons within the Catholic tradition and the spirit of Edmund Rice.St Patrick’s College maintains an inclusive enrolment policy, is generally considered a low fee school and offers a broad range of curricular and co-curricular options to cater for boys with a range of needs.

This is highlighted by the wide range of options taken up by graduates ranging from tertiary studies to traineeships and apprenticeships.

St Patrick’s College is a Catholic secondary College for boys in the Edmund Rice tradition. As a day and boarding school, we are proud of our rich tradition of serving educational needs of young men from Ballarat, Western Victoria and beyond since 1893.

Each day, 1400 students walk through the gates of our College, experiencing a broad, innovative and challenging curriculum where they are encouraged to take responsibility for their own learning. As a College staff, we are dedicated to ensuring that the curriculum offered provides every student with an opportunity to reach their potential, and we remain fully aware of the importance that each of us play in continually lifting this potential.

St Patrick’s College is an educational institution that seeks to live out the Gospel vision of respect, acceptance and inclusivity amongst all members of the community. We seek to give active witness to the four Touchstones of our Charter as an Edmund Rice Education Australia school. These touchstones: Liberating Education, Inclusive Community, Gospel Spirituality and Justice Solidarity form an inseparable part of who we are. We hope that each young man who graduates from St Patrick’s College carries forward with them a heart and mind that is open to building a society that is just and cares for all.

In determining the best destination for your son’s secondary education, We would invite you to visitSt Patrick’s College. Here, your will see first-hand a College that has a strong sense of living tradition, where the work of our faith-filled forebears in building this great school is recognised, and where the next generation of students and their God-given gifts are being shaped and celebrated.

Our students, families, staff, clergy and old collegians are part of an ongoing and unfolding story. We look forward to your son being an important part of our next chapter.

St Patrick’s College is a Catholic day and boarding school for boys, founded by the Christian Brothers. Since 1893 it has served the people of Ballarat, Western Victoria and beyond. The SPC Mission Statement reads, in part, “True to the Catholic tradition the College attempts to promote the development of the whole person through the integration of religious faith with living … we seek to bring about the vision of an authentic Catholic community”.

The College was officially opened on the 24th January, 1893 under the leadership of Br Ryan. The initial enrolment was 34 students, consisting of 24 boarders and ten day students. Current enrolment is 1430 students, including more than 60 boarders. The Centenary was celebrated in 1993, and an official history of the College by Br P. C. Naughtin ‘History and Heritage’ was published.

St Patrick’s prides itself upon its strong tradition of excellence. St Patrick’s College is administered by Edmund Rice Education Australia following the closure of the Christian Brothers’ residence on site in 2012.

St Patrick’s has strong learning and academic traditions where each boy is encouraged to take responsibility for his own learning in an environment that values knowledge, excellence and scholarship. The College strives for the development of the whole person, integrating spiritual development, academic success, cultural awareness and sporting participation in the context of the Catholic tradition.

The St Patrick’s community is an inclusive one which seeks to provide all boys with opportunities to achieve personal excellence in a broad range of curricular and co-curricular areas. This extended family of students, teachers, parents and Old Collegians throughout the country, forms a community that is wholeheartedly committed to the Christian education of young men.

This is reflected in the vision, mission and values of the College which form the foundations for the education provided to boys at the College.