| St Peter's College | |
|---|---|
| Location | |
| Adelaide, South Australia, Australia | |
| Information | |
| Type | Independent Anglican School For Boys |
| Motto | Pro Deo et Patria 'For God and Country' |
| Established | 15 July 1847 |
| Headmaster | Mr Simon Murray[1] |
| Chaplain | Revd. Theo Macall |
| Grades | R–12 |
| Enrolment | 1,270 |
| Campus | Hackney, Finniss |
| Colour(s) | Royal Blue and White |
| Affiliations | Anglican Church |
| Website | www.stpeters.sa.edu.au |
St Peter's College, (officially The Collegiate School of St Peter, but commonly known as SPSC, St Peter's or Saints), is an independent boy's school in the South Australian capital of Adelaide. Founded in 1847 by members of the Anglican Church of Australia, the school is noted for its famous alumni, including three Nobel laureates and forty-one Rhodes scholars.
Three campuses are located on the Hackney Road site near the Adelaide Parklands in Hackney.The Senior School (years 8-12) comprises the bulk of the grounds and most of the historic buildings. To the south of the site are the Preparatory School (years 3-7) and Palm House (reception-year 2). The College also owns an outdoor education campus in Finniss, near Lake Alexandrina. The School is a member of the G20 Schools group.
St Peter's is a day and boarding school and offers two matriculation streams in secondary education: the South Australian Certificate of Education (SACE) and the International Baccalaureate Diploma (IB).
In 2010 The Age reported that St Peter's College ranked equal fourth among Australian schools based on the number of alumni who had received a top Order of Australia honour.[2]
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The origins of the school lie in the ambition of the early colonists to establish for their sons an institution equivalent to the Public Schools from which they benefitted in Great Britain. They founded the Church of England Collegiate School of South Australia, or "The Collegiate School", as a proprietary school on 15 July 1847 in the schoolroom of Holy Trinity Church on North Terrace. The name Sancti Petri Schola Collegiata (SPSC) was given. The school's foundation was followed by the arrival of the first Bishop of Adelaide Augustus Short in December 1847. Short brought with him an endowment of £2,000 from the Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge with which he was expected establish an institution for the Church of England. He intended to use the Trinity School as the basis for this institution and had his chaplain the Reverend T.P. Wilson appointed as its Head Master. He also purchased the school's current estate in Hackney.[3]
In 1849, negotiations between Short and the proprietors concluded, and a Council of Governors was established per their agreement. The school was rededicated as the Collegiate School of St Peter upon incorporation in July 1849. The Latin translation, Sancti Petri Schola Collegiata, is still used as the school acronym, SPSC, although it is often Anglicised to "St Peter's School Collegiate".
The school's emblem consists of a blue shield with white trim, surmounted by two golden keys and bishop's mitre (contemporary versions place the mitre within rather than above the shield, dissimilating the emblem from that of the Diocese of Gloucester). The keys represent Saint Peter while the mitre represents the school's link to the Anglican Church. Beneath the shield is a scroll with the school's Latin motto "Pro Deo et Patria", in which translates into English as "For God and Country".
Upon entering the Senior School in Year 8, all boys are assigned to a house. There are 10 houses, each named after prominent figures in the school's history.[4] Four of these—Da Costa, Farrell, Hawkes and Short—were the original four houses founded in 1920. To accommodate the growing student population five additional houses were founded: MacDermott, Woodcock, Young, Howard and Farr. There is also a boarding house—School & Allen House, that was established in 2003 through the amalgamation of School House with Wyatt & Allen. Houses meet several times each week, and compete in various intra-school competitions throughout the year.
The school is situated on 32 hectares of landscaped grounds only 3 kilometres from the Adelaide central business district on Hackney Road and North Terrace in the suburb St Peters. The suburb St. Peters and its neighbour College Park were named after the school. The main campus' facilities include seven ovals, a hockey pitch, ten tennis courts and two swimming pools. It features mostly heritage architecture, such as "Palm House" (built for William Peacock), but also includes modern buildings. The "Big School Room" is thought to be Australia's oldest classroom still in constant use.
The most recent addition to the school has been the extensive redevelopment of the Junior School, featuring new classrooms and lecture facilitates as well as South Australia's only school based Observatory. In the Senior school the sports centre is the most recent development, which includes two basketball courts, a 25 metre pool, a diving pool, a weights and conditioning room, and café. The school has completed the refurbishment of the old gymnasium as the new Drama Centre and is soon to commence construction of the 'Leadership and Ethics Centre' featuring lecture facilities, a new year 12 common room and the school's museum.
The College also owns an outdoor education property in Finniss, situated on several hectares of land on the banks of the River Finniss. The property includes dormitories, teacher accommodation and a gymnasium, and students are involved with the property's revegetation program of native flora.
A significant source of the school's revenue is the estate of Benjamin Mendes da Costa. Da Costa, a successful Adelaide businessman, bequeathed his estate of £20,000 to the Collegiate School of St Peter when he died in 1868.[3] The bequest was subject to the life interests of ten relations; the last surviving relation died in 1910 and in 1912 the property was vested in the school.[5] A large portion of the estate remains land in prominent city-centre locations. Income generated by the estate is used to subsidise the fees of all students, along with several scholarships and bursaries.
A somewhat common Adelaidean urban myth asserts that the da Costa estate was intended to be given to the Catholic church rather than the Anglican, and that the funds were awarded to Saints after a supposed legal battle. This myth has no basis in fact and most probably stems from misconceptions of da Costa's religion due to his Portuguese family name.
St Peter's College sold Da Costa Arcade, near Rundle Mall, in 2005.
Each student at St Peters is required to play both a summer and winter sport.
Staff and past students conduct training sessions. Weekend competitions are held at the school (or at away venues) each weekend against other schools in Adelaide. Each sport has an annual intercollegiate showdown against rivals Prince Alfred College, known as the "Intercol".[6][7] Some intercols include Head of the River, Football showdown, Water Polo and The Basketball.
The school runs an extensive music program which encourages students to study musical instruments and perform in ensembles. These ensembles perform in several concerts throughout the year, both within the school and externally. Groups include an intermediate and a senior concert band, senior choir, orchestra, string orchestra, and two stage bands until recently named after prominent Australian jazz musicians James Morrison and Don Burrows.
The Outdoor Education campus at Finniss is used by students from years 4 to 10 for annual camps. In addition, students have the opportunity to join the Exploration Society, which allows boys with a passion for outdoor activities to pursue more challenging ventures. Activities include hiking, kayaking, rockclimbing, mountain bike touring and cross country skiing.
St Peter's College's exchange program has links with schools in Germany, France, China, South Africa, England, Switzerland and Canada.
St Peter's position as a leading Adelaide school has seen many of its former students achieve renown in a variety of fields. It has educated more Nobel laureates than any other school in Australia,[8]
St Peter's alumni include:
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