St Bede's College (Mentone)

St Bede's College is an independent Catholic secondary school for boys in Melbourne, Australia.

St Bede's College
St Bede's College crest
Address
2 Mentone Parade

,
3194

Coordinates37°59′28″S 145°4′3″E
Information
TypeIndependent
MottoLatin: Per Vias Rectas
(By Right Paths)
DenominationCatholic (Lasallian)
Established1938
PrincipalJohn Finn
Years7-12
GenderBoys
Enrolment1,950[1]
Colour(s)Blue, Red, Yellow      
Websitewww.stbedes.catholic.edu.au

The college has two campuses: one in Mentone that takes students from years 7 to 12, and one in Bentleigh East that takes students from years 7 to 10.

History

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. It is now a day school only.[2][3] It remains an independent school in the Catholic tradition with its administration still retained by the De La Salle Brothers.

The founder of the institute, St Jean-Baptiste de la Salle, was a French nobleman of the 17th century, who in the reign of Louis XIV renounced his titles and estates, and founded free schools for the rural and urban poor, who had not previously been afforded the opportunity of an education. He was the founder of the classroom model of education and of teacher training colleges, and established schools staffed by consecrated laymen who donated their labour in return for their keep; living a life of primitive communism under vows of poverty, chastity, and obedience. These men became the Fratres Scholarum Christianarum (FSC), or De La Salle Brothers, as they came to be known in the English-speaking world.

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.

St Bede's attracts Catholic students from Mentone and surrounding suburbs as far south-east as the Mornington Peninsula. 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 1600 day students.[3][4]

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

Technology

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.[6]

Also 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.[7]

Principals

  • Br. Simon Staunton (1937–1938)
  • Br. Julian Lennon (1939–1947)
  • Br. Colman Molloy (1948–1952 and 1959–1965)
  • Br. Finian Allman (1953–1957)
  • Br. Stanislaus Carmody (1966–1967)
  • Br. Peter McIntosh (1968–1973)
  • Br. William Firman (1974–1987)
  • Br. Kevin Moloney (1988)
  • Br. Quentin O'Halloran (1989–1998)
  • Br. Ken Ormerod (1999–2006)
  • Br. Garry Coyte (2007–2017)
  • Mr. John Finn (2018 -)

Sport

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

ACC premierhips

St Bede's has won the following ACC premierships.[8]

  • Athletics (8) - 1958, 1961, 1962, 1966, 1969, 1970, 1986, 1987
  • Basketball (10) - 1978, 1981, 1982, 1983, 1986, 1988, 1996, 2002, 2003, 2015
  • Cricket (30) - 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
  • Cross Country (22) - 1976, 1977, 1978, 1979, 1980, 1981, 1983, 1984, 1985, 1986, 1987, 1988, 1989, 1995, 1996, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2010, 2016, 2018, 2019
  • Football (16) - 1953, 1961, 1962, 1964, 1966, 1967, 1968, 1975, 1977, 1978, 1983, 1992, 1993, 1996, 2011, 2019
  • Handball (3) - 1944, 1945, 1947
  • Hockey (15) - 1983, 1984, 1985, 1986, 1987, 1988, 1990, 1991, 1992, 1995, 1996, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2016
  • Soccer (5) - 1987, 1993, 1996, 2011, 2012
  • Swimming (12) - 1984, 1986, 1987, 1988, 1989, 1990, 1991, 2007, 2009, 2010, 2013, 2020
  • Tennis (11) - 1978, 1979, 1981, 1982, 1989, 1990, 1991, 1999, 2002, 2003, 2006
  • Triathlon (3) - 2016, 2017, 2019
  • 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

Law, academia and politics

Creative arts and entertainment

Sport

Priests and religious

See also

References

  1. "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. "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. "Australia set new record at F1 in Schools World Finals". Formula1.com. Retrieved 11 February 2017.
  7. ACER. "Winners | STEM Video Game Challenge | Australia". www.stemgames.org.au. Retrieved 17 March 2017.
  8. "Premiers & Champions – Associated Catholic Colleges". Retrieved 30 January 2021.
  9. "Hall of Fame". St Bede's College. St Bede's College.
  10. About Nick. nickstaikos.com.au. Retrieved 27 August 2015
  11. "Vale Liam Davison". 23 July 2014.
  12. O'Brien, Mary (12 June 2015). "Eddie Perfect's secret Melbourne: an exploration of middle-class life". The Sydney Morning Herald.
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