St. Bernard's College, Melbourne

St Bernard's College
Location
41 Rosehill Road

Northern

Essendon West
,
Victoria
3040

Australia
Coordinates37°45′1″S 144°52′56″E / 37.75028°S 144.88222°E / -37.75028; 144.88222
Information
TypeIndependent secondary school
MottoLatin: Discere et Agere
(To Learn and To Do)
Religious affiliationCatholicism
DenominationChristian Brothers
Patron saintBernard of Clairvaux
Established1940 (1940)
TrustEdmund Rice Education Australia
PrincipalMichael Davies
Years offered7–12
GenderBoys
Enrolment1,600
Average class size28
CampusesEssendon Campus (Years 7 & 8, 10-12): 41 Rosehill Road, Essendon West VIC 3040, Australia

Resurrection House Campus (Year 9): 6 Aberfeldie Street, Aberfeldie VIC 3040, Australia

Santa Monica Campus (Year 9 camp): 970 Great Ocean Road, Eastern View VIC 3231, Australia
HousesAvila (red), MacKillop (blue), McAuley (yellow), Nagle (orange), Rice (green)
SloganAchieving Excellence by Learning and Doing
School feesYear 7-8: $11,182, Year 9-12: $11,917
AffiliationAssociated Catholic Colleges
Websitewww.sbc.vic.edu.au

St Bernard's College is an independent Catholic secondary school for boys, located in the Melbourne suburb of Essendon West, Victoria, Australia. The college is named after its patron saint, Bernard of Clairvaux, and is a member of the Associated Catholic Colleges. It is also part of Edmund Rice Education Australia, a series of schools that focus on teaching the pupils in the tradition of Edmund Rice. As of 2025, the school's principal is Michael Davies and the vice-principal is Therese Wilson.

History

St Bernard's College traces its origins to the establishment of St Monica's at Moonee Ponds in 1917, by Brothers C. O'Keefe and T. Quinn. Students at this school were taken from Grade III to Intermediate (Year 10).

In 1940, during the war period, not only were the students sent away to help in Ireland, the school was also extended to take the Leaving Certificate (Year 11), and this necessitated the building of the first St Bernard's on The Strand, Moonee Ponds, with Brother Cregan as the first headmaster.[1]

In the mid-1950s, Brother Brendan Murphy organised the purchase of the West Essendon property. While initially used as sporting grounds, building work began at this site in the mid-1960s. Since then, the site has developed with all classes being located at West Essendon by 1995, at which time the Moonee Ponds site was sold. In 2001, the college set up its Santa Monica campus on the Great Ocean Road near Lorne. This campus is most notably used by Year 9 students where they live, study, and undertake outdoor education for four-week periods as part of the standard curriculum.[2] Since 2023,[3] the college has had its Year 9 students at a dedicated campus in Aberfeldie, known as Resurrection House. Resurrection House was formerly a Catholic primary school established in 1952,[4] until it was closed and sold to St Bernard's College.

Curriculum

St Bernard's College offers its senior students the Victorian Certificate of Education (VCE).

VCE results 2012-2025[5]
Year Rank Median study score Scores of 40+ (%) Cohort size
2012 95 32 10.4 284
2013 98 32 11 297
2014 109 32 8.7 304
2015 95 32 10.5 384
2016 97 32 10.2 367
2017 139 31 8 314
2018 130 31 8.8 327
2019 172 30 7.5 339
2020 181 30 6 320
2021 201 30 5.3 299
2022 146 31 6.3 302
2023 198 30 5.6 347
2024 130 31 8 363
2025 132 31 8.4 312

Term dates

For the 2025 Victorian school year, the current term dates are as below.[6]

  • Term 1 - Monday, 3 February (Years 7, 9, 11 & 12)/Tuesday 4 February (Years 8 & 10) - Friday, 4 April
  • Term 2 - Tuesday, 22 April - Friday, 4 July
  • Term 3 - Tuesday, 22 July - Friday, 19 September
  • Term 4 - Monday, 6 October - Friday, 5 December

Activities

Sports

St Bernard's is a member of the Associated Catholic Colleges and competes against twelve other schools in sporting fixtures and carnivals. Students play week-end sport with the Old Collegians. St Bernards is particularly successful in Australian Rules Football, winning the Herald Sun Shield in 2017 and 2018. A number of boys from these sides have been drafted into the AFL like Noah Balta to Richmond, Xavier O'Halloran to Greater Western Sydney, (in the first round of the AFL draft) and Lachlan Sholl to Adelaide.

St Bernards had a record twelve straight Athletic championship wins from 2003 to 2014, under the coaching of Gerard Brown, a teacher with years of experience in the role as head coach of the Athletics squad and Cross Country team.[7] [8]

The St Bernard's Football Club, which competes in the Victorian Amateur Football Association (VAFA), plays its home matches at the St Bernard's College Oval.[9]

ACC premierships

St Bernard's has won the following ACC premierships.[10]

  • Athletics (18) – 1988, 1989, 1990, 1991, 1992, 2001, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014
  • Basketball (2) – 1991, 2016
  • Cricket (5) – 1979, 1997, 2005, 2018, 2021, 2024
  • Cross Country (10) – 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015
  • Australian Rules Football (15) – 1961, 1965, 1970, 1972, 1987, 1988, 1989, 1991, 1996, 2000, 2001, 2012, 2017, 2018, 2021
  • Golf (3) – 2014, 2015, 2016
  • Handball – 1956
  • Hockey (7) – 2005, 2006, 2008, 2009, 2012, 2013, 2018
  • Lawn Bowls – 2021, 2024
  • Football (6) – 1995, 1996, 1998, 2004, 2008, 2021, 2024
  • Swimming (3) – 1995, 1998, 2012
  • Table Tennis (4) – 2001, 2002, 2010, 2013
  • Tennis (12) – 1952, 1954, 1991, 1997, 2001, 2004, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2016, 2018, 2019, 2024
  • Triathlon – 2018
  • Volleyball (4) – 1995, 1996, 1997, 2013

Performing arts

The college has musical productions and music programs. It has combined with St Columba's College, to stage shows annually. St Bernard's College productions in conjunction with St Columba's College have been recognised by the Music Theatre Guild of Victoria.[11]

2024 – "Chicago"

  • Commendation for Junior Production of the Year
  • Linda Henderson, Nominee for Direction of a Junior Performance
  • Linda Henderson, Kira Neilson & Monique Zammit, Nominees for Choreography
  • Ed Chan, commended for Musical Direction of a Junior Production
  • Cooper Marin, Recipient of Best Lead Performer in a Male Presenting Role as Billy Flynn
  • Sienna Alexander, commended for Minor/Cameo Role as Emcee

Notable alumni

Notable staff

See also

References

  1. ^ St. Bernard's College- Christian Brothers (accessed:26-06-2007)
  2. ^ "Santa Monica Experience". sbc.vic.edu.au. Retrieved 10 July 2023.
  3. ^ "Year 9". St Bernard's College. Retrieved 9 June 2025.
  4. ^ "Resurrection House". Find and Connect. Retrieved 9 June 2025.
  5. ^ "Compare VCE School Ranking | Trends - 2024". bettereducation.com.au. Retrieved 30 December 2025.
  6. ^ "Events". St Bernard's College. Retrieved 18 February 2025.
  7. ^ St. Bernard's College- Facilities (accessed:26-06-2007)
  8. ^ "RESULTS: Herald Sun Shield - AFL Victoria". aflvic.com.au. Archived from the original on 3 October 2017.
  9. ^ "WEATHER FORCES GROUND CLOSURES". VAFA. 1 June 2013. Archived from the original on 4 January 2026. Retrieved 4 January 2026.
  10. ^ "Premiers & Champions – Associated Catholic Colleges". Retrieved 9 June 2025.
  11. ^ "2024 – Nominations & Recipients – Music Theatre Guild of Victoria". Retrieved 9 June 2025.
  12. ^ a b c d e Crikey.com.au: Famous alumni on Latham's hit list Archived 2007-09-26 at the Wayback Machine (accessed:26-06-2007)
  13. ^ Nicholson, Larissa (22 February 2016). "AFL 2016: Umpire Eleni Glouftsis breaks a glass ceiling". The Age. Retrieved 23 February 2016.
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