After 135 years of all-girls education, this year North Melbourne’s St Aloysius College has welcomed boys through the Year 7 intake.
St Aloysius College has officially opened its doors to boys, with a six-stream co-educational Year 7 cohort marking the beginning of the College’s Master Plan of becoming fully co-educational by 2028. The transition to co-education reflects the commitment of Mercy and St Aloysius to respond to local community needs, making affordable education available to all young people.
In addition to seeing through the transition to co-education, the College Masterplan to 2028 will see further construction and expansion of future-led, architect-designed learning spaces and facilities. Currently home to three campuses, Curran Street North Melbourne (Academic Campus), Boundary Road North Melbourne (Gymnasium) and a Torquay Outdoor Education and Camps facility, college facilities and campuses are flexible, multi-purpose and responsive to the needs of the cohort.
Historically inner Melbourne’s best-performing inner-city Catholic girls’ school in terms of VCE rankings, St Aloysius has continued to expand its curricular and co-curricular offerings. St Aloysius students benefit from a rich and diverse curriculum delivered by highly experienced teachers in an environment designed to support individual wellbeing.
In preparation for the college’s transition to co-education, college staff (well-versed already in co-education) have been participating in extensive professional development workshops and seminars across all learning and culture areas to ensure their readiness for this exciting new chapter in the college’s history. Staff at St Aloysius College appreciate that boys and girls learn differently, and are well prepared to ensure the classroom, co-curricular and recreation experiences of all students reflect this understanding.
In addition to its membership of the Association of Co-Educational Schools (through which the college participates in a vast sporting calendar, chess, debating and public speaking), the college curriculum is further bolstered by partnerships with the North Melbourne Football Club, Royal Park and the Essendon Rowing Club.
College principal Mary Farah is excited about the transition. “Our Year 7 2023 students are vibrant, engaging, courteous and inquisitive, and will progress through the college as our first co-educational cohort, leading by example the extraordinary groups to follow,” Ms Farah says.
Enrolment applications are now open for Year 7 2025 co-education at St Aloysius.
In 2023, St Aloysius College proudly takes a bold step towards the future, becoming the first Catholic co-educational secondary school […]