Oakhill College

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Oakhill College
Deo Duce
(Latin:"God our Leader")[1]
Established 1936[2]
School Type Independent, Secondary, Co-educational, Day school
Denomination Roman Catholic, De La Salle Brothers
Key People Br Ken Ormerod fsc (Principal)
Br John Pill fsc (Chairman)
School Fees ~AU$4,260 p.a[3]
Location Castle Hill, New South Wales, Australia Flag of Australia
Coordinates 33°43′25″S 151°1′12″E / -33.72361, 151.02Coordinates: 33°43′25″S 151°1′12″E / -33.72361, 151.02
Enrolment ~1,600 (7-12)[4]
Employees ~121 (Full-time)[4]
Colours Maroon and Gold         
Homepage www.oakhill.nsw.edu.au

Oakhill College is a Catholic, co-educational, secondary, day school, located in Castle Hill, New South Wales, a suburb in the Hills District of the Greater Western region of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia.

Founded in 1936, the College is run by the De La Salle Brothers[2] in the tradition of St. John Baptist De La Salle, and currently caters for approximately 1,600 students from Years 7 to 12.[4]

Oakhill College is a member of the Independent Schools Association (ISA),[5] and is a school of the Diocese of Parramatta.[6]

Contents

[edit] History

The De La Salle Brothers purchased the Oakhill property in 1932. The school commenced in August 1936 with four students, increasing to 30 in 1937 when there were 10 day and 20 boarding students. The College served the then rural area of "The Hills",[7] and grew slowly until in 1953, its enrolment reached 100.

In 1974 the decision was taken to phase out the boarding school and, in 1976 Oakhill College became a co-educational senior school.[7] The phasing out of primary classes commenced in 1980, and by 1983, Oakhill College was enrolling only secondary students.

In the year 2006, the 100th year of the Brothers in Australia was celebrated with a mass at St Mary's Cathedral.

The property was initially used as a training college for brothers; the school came later. The training college for brothers evolved into a training college for Catholic lay teachers, which was then merged into the Australian Catholic University in the 1980s, which then became the Castle Hill campus of the ACU. Finally, in the 1990s, the ACU decided to consolidate their campuses in Sydney, and abandoned their Castle Hill facility, which then reverted to the De La Salle brothers. Since then, the original training college has been extensively renovated, named the De La Salle Building and forms part of the school.

[edit] Facilities

[edit] Centenary sports centre

The Centenary Sports Centre is the newest addition to the college campus. It was built during the course of 2006, and was opened in late November of 2006. It has a 25 metre pool, PD/H/PE classrooms, and a gym. The main part of the centre is a double basketball court. it is used for school assemblies.

[edit] Co-curriculum

[edit] Drama

Oakhill College has a diverse drama department.[citation needed] Various HSC performances have been nominated for the On Stage performances at Sydney's Seymour Centre.[citation needed] The College conducts a major musical every two years, and a junior musical every alternate year. Past productions have included:

  • All Shook Up
  • Jesus Christ Superstar
  • Les Misérables
  • Little Shop of Horrors
  • The Dream
  • The Importance Of Being Earnest
  • Dad's Army
  • The Mouse That Roared

[edit] Pastoral care

Pastoral care at Oakhill involves classroom based programs in years 7 and 8 and a House System from Years 9-12. The Houses include:

  • Benildus House - (Gold). Named after Saint Brother Benildus Romancon (1805 - 1862). Feast Day 13 August .
  • La Salle House - (Red). Named after St. John Baptist de La Salle (1651 - 1719), the founder of the De La Salle Brothers. Feast Day 15 May.
  • Miguel House - (Purple). Named after St Brother Miguel Febres Cordero (1854 - 1910). Feast Day 9 February.
  • Mutien House - (Green). Named after St Brother Mutien-Marie Wiaux (1841 - 1917). Feast Day 30 January.
  • Solomon House - (Light Blue). Named after Blessed Brother Solomon LeClercq (1745 - 1792), Martyr, France. Feast Day 2 September.
  • Turon House - (Dark Blue). Named after Eight Brothers and one Passionist priest martyred 8 October 1934, in the Brother's School, Turon, Spain. Feast Day 9 October.

[edit] Government funding

On February 9, 2008, The Sydney Morning Herald revealed that a Greens analysis of government figures showed that, over four years, Oakhill received $13.2 million more in federal government funding than it is entitled to under the Socioeconomic status (SES) formula.[8]

[edit] Notable alumni

[edit] See also

[edit] References

  1. ^ Crest. College Information. Oakhill College (2007). Retrieved on 2008-02-24.
  2. ^ a b Oakhill College. New South Wales. School Choice (2007). Retrieved on 2008-02-24.
  3. ^ Patty, Anna. "School fees to rise as government grants soar", National, Sydney: The Sydney Morning Herald, 2008-01-08, p. 3. Retrieved on 2008-02-24. 
  4. ^ a b c Annual Report 2006 (PDF). Publications. Oakhill College (2007). Retrieved on 2008-02-24.
  5. ^ Oakhill College Sport. College Information. Oakhill College (2007). Retrieved on 2008-02-24.
  6. ^ Oakhill College. Our Schools. Catholic Education: Diocese of Parramatta. Retrieved on 2008-02-24.
  7. ^ a b Prospectus (PDF). College Information. Oakhill College. Retrieved on 2008-02-24.
  8. ^ Anna, Patty. "How private schools owe taxpayer $2b", The Sydney Morning Herald, Sydney, Australia: Fairfax Media, 2008-02-09, p. 1. Retrieved on 2008-02-09. 
  9. ^ Biographical details. Biographical and contact information. Brian Castro. Retrieved on 2008-02-24.

[edit] External links

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Members of the Independent Schools Association, New South Wales, Australia