St Columba’s was founded in 1897 by Mother Ursula Bruton. The college community is under the stewardship of Mary Aikenhead Ministries and conducted in the tradition of the Sisters of Charity and the five values espoused in the mission statement of the college: learning, community, justice, hope and faith.
St Columba’s offers a broad range of educational opportunities through its extensive curriculum and co-curricular activities. It services the educational needs of the Catholic community of the area and, as such, gives first preference for places to Catholic students from partner parish schools, sisters of current students and daughters of past students.
Facilities: State-of-the-art facilities include a performing arts centre, information services centre, art wing, physical education centre, a new STEM centre, collaborative learning spaces for junior students, a learning courtyard and extensive library.
Curriculum: St Columba’s College offers a wide range of subjects from Year 7 to VCE. The Years 7 to 10 curriculum follows the Essential Learning framework and incorporates practices that use learning technologies and Thinking Curriculum principles to facilitate deep learning. Thirty six VCE subjects are currently offered at the college, encompassing all VCE learning areas including Religious Education, English, Mathematics, Sciences, Languages, Humanities, the Performing Arts, the Visual Arts and Health & Physical Education. VCAL is also offered to senior students as an alternative to the VCE. The college aims to engage girls in broad educational programs which provide experiences that they will take them well beyond their time at St Columba’s.
Sport: Athletics, Australian Rules football, basketball, charity run, cross-country, hockey, netball, soccer,swimming, tennis and volleyball.
Extra-curricular activities: Options include activities from many areas of performing arts (choir, band, dance and drama), public speaking, social justice and student leadership.
Student wellbeing programs: At the core of the student wellbeing program is the Vertical House Structure. There are seven Houses and each House is split into three Junior (Year 7 to 9) and three Senior (Year 10 to 12) House Groups. These House Groups each consist of approximately 24 students, led by a House Teacher. Students remain in the one House throughout their time at St Columba’s. Students also have access to college counsellors and other specialist support staff.