Damascus College

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Damascus College

To Live by the Light of Christ
Established	1995
School type	Catholic
Location	Ballarat, Victoria, Australia
Year Level	Secondary Years 7 - 12
Campuses	Two (1 Junior, 1 senior) (Single in Future)
School colours	Gold, Navy Blue and Maroon
Address	Senior: 1412 Geelong Road, Mt Clear Junior: 200 Victoria Street, Ballarat
Homepage	http://www.damascus.vic.edu.au

Damascus College is a secondary, co-educational, Catholic day school situated over two campuses in Ballarat, Victoria, Australia. The Junior Campus, for students in years 7 to 9, is located on Victoria St in Ballarat East and the Senior Campus, for students in years 10 to 12, is located on Geelong Rd in Mt Clear. The College is currently developing facilities to allow for a single campus school on the Mt Clear site.

1 Origins
2 Founding Patrons
3 Facilities
4 See also
5 External links

[edit] Origins

The College was established in 1995 after three separate Catholic colleges, St. Martin's in the Pines (Mt Clear), Sacred Heart College (Ballarat East, both owned and administered by the Sisters of Mercy) and St. Pauls College (Ballarat East, conducted by the Christian Brothers) amalgamated to form the largest co-educational catholic school in Ballarat.

The Congregation of the Sisters of Mercy had its formal beginnings in Ireland in 1831. Its foundress, Catherine McAuley, in response to the needs of the time, established an institutiuon for the care and education of less advantaged girls and young women. Since that foundation the Congregation has continued to act in response to contemporary needs in society.

In 1881, as part of this heritage, the Sisters of Mercy established Sacred Heart College in Ballarat East for students from Preparatory to Year 12. The primary students were later moved to St. Francis Xavier College. In 1967, a separate campus for Years 11 and 12 girls was developed at Mt. Clear to form Sacred Heart Senior College, St. Martin's in the Pines. In 1988, this campus became co-educational, with boys mainly from St. Paul's College.

The Christian Brothers were founded in Ireland in 1802 by Br. Edmund Rice to educate the sons of poor and oppressed Catholic families. The Brothers provided the education whereby these boys gained some control of their lives.

When the Bishop of Ballarat, Most Reverend James O'Collins established St. Paul's College in 1948, he invited the Christian Brothers to continue their work for boys through the provision of technical education.

Based on the philosophies of the founders, the Colleges offered a broad education for boys and girls to prepare them for future life choices. Sacred Heart College offered a comprehensive education for girls from Years 7 to 10. St. Pauls College emphasised the development of technical skills within a comprehensive Year 7 to 10 curriculum for boys. St. Martin's in the Pines continued this broad education in an atmosphere and environment appropriate to students about to complete their secondary education.

Damascus College is jointly sponsored by the Sisters of Mercy (Ballarat East) and the Parish Priests of Ballarat, Ballarat East, Ballarat North, Bungaree, Cressy, Creswick, Daylesford, Gordon, Linton, Redan, Sebastopol, and Wendouree. The College provided Catholic secondary co-education for day students in Ballarat and surrounding areas on two campuses located at Ballarat East and Mt. Clear.