Loyola College is an independentCatholic secondary school, located in Watsonia, a suburb of Melbourne, in Victoria, Australia. The college was founded by the Society of Jesus in 1980 with an initial enrolment of 134 students. The Jesuits conduct the school in the Ignatian tradition. Located on 11 hectares (27 acres), as of 2020[update], Loyola College had a student population of approximately 1,360 students from Year 7 to Year 12.[1]
History
The Loyola Seminary built between 1932 and 1934 was located at the corner of Bungay and Grimshaw Streets, Watsonia.[2] After being owned by various parties over the years, the land was bought by John Kennedy in 1979, and formally opened as a school the next year.
Structure
A regional Catholic college, Loyola's associated parishes are St Damian's, Bundoora; Sacred Heart, Diamond Creek; St Mary's, Greensborough; Our Lady of the Way, Kingsbury, St Martin of Tours’, Macleod; St Francis of Assisi, Mill Park and St Thomas’, North Greensborough. The college also serves the parishes of St Francis Xavier, Montmorency, including Holy Trinity, Eltham North and Our Lady Help of Christians, Eltham.[3]
Each staff member and student belongs to one of the six houses: Chisholm, named after Caroline Chisholm; Flynn, named after John Flynn; McAuley, named after the Venerable Mother Catherine McAuley; MacKillop, named after Saint Mary MacKillop; Mannix, named after Archbishop Daniel Mannix; and Xavier, named after St. Francis Xavier. All houses compete with each other through sports, theatre and more, in order to gain the most points and win the House Shield, which is awarded annually.[4]
Past principals
John Ormond Kennedy was the founding principal in September 1979.[5] Joseph Favrin was the principal from 2008 until June 2022. [6][7] Alison Leutchford was temporarily acting principal before officially being appointed principal in July 2024.[8]
Curriculum
The college offers a range of subjects including arts,[9] Design and Technology, English, Humanities, Language, Mathematics, Music, Physical and Outdoor Education and Science. Loyola College also offers extra curricular activities including Clubs and Societies, Performing Arts, Public speaking and Debating, Service and Spirituality, and Sport. Major events during the school year include St Ignatius Day, the Musical Production and Dramatic Production, House Drama, House Music, House Chess, Athletics Carnival and Swimming Carnival.[10][11]
The school has a partnership with Jesus Good Shepherd School in the Philippines.
Notable alumni
This article's list of alumni may not follow Wikipedia's verifiability policy. Please improve this article by removing names that do not have independent reliable sources showing they merit inclusion in this article AND are alumni, or by incorporating the relevant publications into the body of the article through appropriate citations.(March 2021)
Nicholas Audino – Music producer, songwriter, executive and manager
Jasmine Curtis – actress, dancer, endorser, writer and commercial model
Jack Grimes – Australian rules football player for Melbourne Demons
Dylan Grimes – Australian rules football player for Richmond Tigers
Matthew Kreuzer – Australian rules football player for Carlton Blues
Ben Lennon – Australian rules football player for Richmond Tigers
2023: DUX Pio Abi Raad (97.30 ATAR) and PROXIME ACCESSIT Gabrielle Liew (94.20 ATAR) [13]
2022: DUX Alysha Prisc (99.45 ATAR) and PROXIME ACCESSIT Kelly Tran (99.40 ATAR)[14]
2021: DUX Matthew Stanton (99.45 ATAR) and PROXIME ACCESSIT Callista Nguyen (99.00 ATAR)[15]
2020: DUX Mary Tomasiello (99.15 ATAR) and PROXIME ACCESSIT Loujine Azmay (98.25 ATAR)[16]
Controversies
Joseph Favrin, the Loyola College principal between 2008 and 2022, stepped down after his teaching license was stripped from accusations of sexual offenses. [17]
