# Parade College

Parade College is a private Catholic secondary school for boys. It is located across two campuses in the northern suburbs of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia; one at Bundoora; the other, 8 km (5.0 mi) away, at Preston. The school is a member of Edmund Rice Education Australia and the Associated Catholic Colleges.

## History

Parade College was founded by four Christian Brothers in January 1871. They had taught for two years in a small school behind St Francis’ Church in Lonsdale Street before moving into the bluestone building in Victoria Parade. Hence the name Parade College. About one hundred boys enrolled on the first day and this number grew steadily over the years until it became necessary in 1953 to move the junior classes to a site newly acquired by the Old Paradians Association at Alphington. In 1968 further expansion was necessary and the college moved to a site of 80 acres on Plenty Road, Bundoora.
In January 2009, Parade College officially opened their Preston Campus for Years 7–12. In 2021, the school celebrated their 150th anniversary with a commemorative logo and a screening based on the school's rich history at Westfield Plenty Valley in 2022. In 2022, the school announced that the Preston Campus would become Year 10–12 only. This would take place after all the current Year 7–9 students finished.
In July 2021, Parade College announced a partnership with English Premier League side Manchester City F.C. to build a football program for selected students starting from the 2022 academic year. At the end of 2022, the school announced the implementation of Nolan House, to join the main four houses at the start 2023. Students from Year 7 and 8 in 2022 were given the opportunity to move and join the house.
The school will admit female students for the first time from 2025 for its Tertiary Pathways Program, which provides direct entry into a range of undergraduate courses at La Trobe University without an ATAR.

## Curriculum

Parade College offers its senior students the Victorian Certificate of Education (VCE).
VCE results 2012–2023 :
| Year | Rank | Median study score | Scores of 40+ (%) | Cohort size |
| 2012 | 144 | 31 | 8.7 | 345 |
| 2013 | 194 | 30 | 5.8 | 361 |
| 2014 | 191 | 30 | 6 | 409 |
| 2015 | 140 | 31 | 7.8 | 361 |
| 2016 | 127 | 31 | 9.1 | 428 |
| 2017 | 149 | 31 | 6.6 | 359 |
| 2018 | 173 | 30 | 7.5 | 451 |
| 2019 | 130 | 31 | 8.5 | 481 |
| 2020 | 213 | 30 | 3.2 | 508 |
| 2021 | 186 | 30 | 6.5 | 534 |
| 2022 | 191 | 30 | 5.8 | 477 |
| 2023 | 212 | 30 | 4.5 | 585 |

## Sport

Parade College is a founding member of the Associated Catholic Colleges (ACC).

### ACC premierships

Parade College has won the following ACC premierships.
* Athletics (17) – 1912, 1913, 1926, 1928, 1930, 1931, 1939, 1955, 1956, 1972, 1992, 2015, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2021
* Basketball (16) – 1979, 1980, 1985, 1986, 1987, 1988, 1989, 1990, 1993, 1994, 1995, 1997, 1998, 2000, 2022, 2023
* Cricket (15) – 1946, 1947, 1948, 1953, 1955, 1960, 1963, 1970, 1973, 1978, 1980, 1981, 1983, 1984, 1986
* Cricket T20 (3) – 2019, 2020, 2021
* Cross Country (4) – 1982, 1990, 1991, 1992
* Football (25) – 1938, 1940, 1941, 1946, 1948, 1954, 1955, 1957, 1958, 1962, 1964, 1967, 1976, 1980, 1981, 1984, 1985, 1986, 1987, 1989, 1995, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2009, 2023
* Handball (9) – 1934, 1935, 1936, 1938, 1940, 1941, 1946, 1951, 1952
* Hockey (3) – 2003, 2004, 2010, 2022
* Soccer (3) – 1994, 2001, 2002
* Swimming (12) – 1936, 1938, 1962, 1963, 1964, 1965, 1966, 1973, 1985, 1992, 1994, 1997
* Tennis (16) – 1953, 1954, 1955, 1980, 1982, 1983, 1984, 1989, 1990, 1991, 1992, 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 2020

## Notable alumni

Alumni of Parade College are known as Old Paradians.
* Jock McHale – Australian rules football player and coach for the Collingwood in VFL.
* General John Baker AC, DSM – Australian Army general; Chief of the Australian Defence Force (1995–1998)
* Peter Bedford – Australian rules football player
* Mark Beers – Former Collingwood player and teacher at Parade
* Brad Boyd – Australian rules football player
* Sir Bernard Callinan CBE, DSO, MC – Australian Army officer, engineer and businessman
* Nate Caddy – AFL footballer
* Blake Caracella – Australian rules football player
* Peter Caven – Australian rules football player
* Vice Admiral Sir John Collins KBE, CB – Royal Australian Navy admiral; Chief of Naval Staff (1948–1955)
* Trent Cotchin – Australian rules football player
* Adam Dale – Australian cricket player
* Walter De Backer – singer and musician – Gotye
* Richard Di Natale – Former leader of the Australian Greens and Senator for Victoria
* Ricky Dyson – Australian rules football player
* Jade Gresham – Australian rules football player
* Daniel Harford – Australian rules football player
* Peter Helliar – Comedian, actor, television, radio presenter, writer, producer and director.
* Gary Honey – athlete and Olympic silver medallist
* Nathan Hrovat – Australian rules football player
* Ben Johnson – Australian rules football player
* Terry Keays – Australian rules football player
* Gavan McCormack – Asian languages and affairs academic
* Major General Jim Molan AO, DSC – senior Australian Army officer and Senator for New South Wales
* Jarrod Molloy – Australian rules football player
* Terry Moran AC – Secretary of the Department of Prime Minister and Cabinet
* Massimo Murdocca – association football player
* Michael Kenneth Pratt GC – George Cross medal recipient
* Andrew Robb AO, MP – former Howard Government Minister
* Sergio Silvagni – Australian rules football player
* Tony Sneazwell – athlete and Olympian
* John Wegner AO – German-born opera singer