St Bede's College (Mentone)

Coordinates: 37°59′28″S 145°4′3″E / 37.99111°S 145.06750°E / -37.99111; 145.06750
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

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
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

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 and the Council of International Schools. 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 9.

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. 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 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 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).

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]

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.[9]

Principals[edit]

  • 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)
  • John Finn (2018–2021)
  • Deborah Frizza (2022–current)

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:[10]

  • 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, 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. ^ "Premiers & Champions – Associated Catholic Colleges". Retrieved 30 January 2021.
  11. ^ 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.
  12. ^ "Peter McTigue OAM | Chemistry Education Association". Archived from the original on 2 March 2019. Retrieved 12 March 2019.
  13. ^ About Nick. nickstaikos.com.au. Retrieved 27 August 2015
  14. ^ "The International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons wins Nobel Peace Prize".
  15. ^ https://www.stbedes.catholic.edu.au/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/BedaBoy-June-2020-FINAL-1.pdf [bare URL PDF]
  16. ^ Donovan, Patrick (7 May 2010). "British India: Avalanche". The Sydney Morning Herald.
  17. ^ "Vale Liam Davison". 23 July 2014.
  18. ^ O'Brien, Mary (12 June 2015). "Eddie Perfect's secret Melbourne: an exploration of middle-class life". The Sydney Morning Herald.
  19. ^ https://www.stbedes.catholic.edu.au/wp-content/uploads/2018/01/01385.pdf [bare URL PDF]

External links[edit]