From the Principal
During last night’s Presentation Evening, the College recognised the academic achievements of our students, while also celebrating all of our students’ growth in character and conscience throughout the year.
During the evening, reference was also made to the College’s strengthened focus towards realising our key objectives. Of particular note this year are two initiatives supporting our focus on Inspiring Educational Excellence.
The first is the College’s strategy to ‘smooth’ class numbers in Years 5 and 6 and throughout the Secondary School from 2026.
In short, as of next year the College will transition from two classes of 30 students in Years 5 and 6 to three classes of 25/26 students per class and in the Secondary School, the College will move from classes of 32 students in some years, to classes of no more than approximately 27/28 students across the whole of the Secondary School.
To realise this objective, the College has worked on the design of seven new temporary classrooms for installation in time for the commencement of the 2026 academic year. Four temporary classrooms will be dedicated to Secondary School use and three for Primary School use. We look forward to the fit out of those classrooms during the upcoming break.
A second initiative realised this year in support of our focus on Inspiring Educational Excellence has been the leveraging of our global Jesuit and Mary Ward relationships. When students have the opportunity to engage with peers, ideas, and realities from around the world, they develop critical skills that cannot be taught in isolation. They learn to think more creatively, listen more carefully, and respond more thoughtfully. Global connections in education challenge us to seek the more universal good (the Magis) and given we live in a time of extraordinary global interconnection, we are continually mindful of its importance.
Perhaps most importantly, though, global education reminds us that we are all part of something bigger. The challenges we face, be they climate change, public health, ethical technology use, are not bound by geographical borders. Similarly, solutions to these challenges are not bound by geographical borders either. As we seek to develop students as leaders, problem-solvers, and changemakers, we also strive to equip them with a global lens.
It is with this in mind, that the College has formalised its relationship with two schools this year, one a Mary Ward school in England and the other, a Jesuit school in Scotland.
The first partnership is one between our College and St Mary’s School Ascot, which is located about an hour and a half out of London. Founded in 1885 by the Loreto sisters, St Mary’s is an independentCatholic boarding school for girls in Berkshire, England, with approximately 390 students aged 11 to 18. In the 1980s a lay board of Governors took over the management of the school and in 1995 the school Trust purchased the school buildings and site from the Loreto sisters. Welcome - St Mary's School Ascot
Our second partnership this year is with St Aloysius' College Glasgow, in Scotland. St Aloysius’ College is a Catholic, coeducational, independent school for students aged 3 to 18. Founded in 1859 by the Society of Jesus, the College has a proud history of Jesuit education in the heart of Glasgow and remains Scotland’s only Jesuit school. The College occupies a prominent site on Garnethill and serves students from across the city and beyond. St Aloysius' College is governed by a Board of Directors and operates as an independent charity. St Aloysius' College · Independent Private School in Glasgow, Scotland
After many online conversations with the Principals of both schools, and most recently in person, our College has now formalised the relationships between our schools. It will be interesting to see how the strengthened relationships between our schools broadens to include closer staff and student ties over time.
The delivery of an exceptional Catholic education would not be possible without the sustained commitment of all in our community. With this in mind, I offer my thanks and congratulations to each member of our College community for a year full of successes, challenges and learning and particularly acknowledge my Executive team and all of our staff for their hard work and dedication.
As I concluded last night, and as we reflect on the year that was, long may we continue to strive to ensure that within our College ‘love shows itself in deeds more than words’.
Daniel Mahon
Principal