Established 1882 | Founded 1882 | |
 | ||
Denomination Roman Catholic, FCJ Sisters Colour(s) Bottle Green, Navy Blue and White Website Vaucluse Past Students Association Headquarters City of Yarra, Melbourne, Australia Motto Latin: Ad Altiora; ("To Higher Things") School types Independent school, Single-sex education, Day school | ||
Vaucluse College FCJ was founded in 1882 by the Faithful Companions of Jesus. The school was originally known as Mount St Joseph College and later was changed to Vaucluse College FCJ. The main buildings of the college including the convent were designed by the architect GW Vanheems and constructed in stages between 1897-1904 to supplement the 'Eurolie' building already on site. These buildings, including the small gatehouse are listed as being of historical significance to the Richmond Hill area by the Heritage Council of Victoria. The school officially closed on December 8, 2000 due to changing demographics in the inner-city Melbourne region.
Contents
The Vaucluse site is currently used as the Waterford campus for St Kevin's College.
House system
The students of Vaucluse College were divided into four houses that competed against each other in three areas: Athletics, Swimming and Performing Arts.
These houses were named:
Curriculum
Vaucluse College provided secondary education for girls between Years 7-12 including VCE (Victorian Certificate of Education). The teaching was primarily performed by a mixed sex staff supplemented by a small number of Sisters from the FCJ convent on campus.
Students at the college benefited from a very broad curriculum that covered five main fields of study: Science, Arts, Humanities, Business and Sport.
Within these streams the following subjects were taught at a senior level:
Co-curriculum
Students of Vaucluse were also able to participate in a range of additional activities including three choirs (Vaucluse College Choir, Senior College Choir & Madrigal Group), Vaucluse Debating Team, Wind Orchestra, Tennis and Taekwondo. Many of these groups competed successfully at inter-school competitions against other Victorian secondary schools.
Associated schools
Seven years after the founding of the original college and convent in Richmond, in 1889 Genazzano FCJ College was established as a sister school in nearby Kew to accommodate boarding students from country areas.