# Santa Maria College, Perth

Santa Maria College is an independent Roman Catholic single-sex primary and secondary day and boarding school for girls located in Attadale, a southern suburb of Perth, Western Australia.
Established by the Sisters of Mercy in 1938, the school currently caters for approximately 1,300 students from Year 5 to Year 12 including 150 boarders.
The college is affiliated with the Association of Heads of Independent Schools of Australia (AHISA), the Australian Boarding Schools' Association (ABSA), the Alliance of Girls' Schools Australasia (AGSA), and the Independent Girls Schools Sports Association (IGSSA).
Santa Maria's brother school is Aquinas College located in Salter Point.

## History

The College's Mercy heritage and history goes back to the arrival of seven Sisters of Mercy in Perth in 1846. They were led by Ursula Frayne.
The Sisters opened their first school on St George's Terrace in February 1846. Over time, several additional buildings were constructed in the grounds of the present Mercedes College. As the demand continued to grow, a new college was planned in Attadale. Santa Maria College opened its doors in 1938. The founding principal was Mary Bertrand Corbett.
Originally a boarding school, it gradually transitioned to mostly serving day students.
Today Santa Maria College is a community of 1,300 students from Years 5 to 12.

## Governance

Mercy Education Limited (Mercy Education) is the delegated authority, which oversees the operation of the Education ministry of the Institute of Sisters of Mercy of Australia and Papua New Guinea (ISMAPNG).
Through its board of directors, Mercy Education is responsible for the governance and operation of eleven Mercy Sponsored Colleges owned by ISMAPNG, including Santa Maria College. Mercy Education is the employer of the principal and staff of twelve Mercy Colleges.

## Associations

Santa Maria College is a Catholic Education Office affiliated education provider. It is also affiliated with the Association of Independent Schools of Western Australia.
Santa Maria College is a member of the Independent Girls Schools Sporting Association.

## Principals

The following individuals have served as Principal of Santa Maria College:
| Ordinal | Officeholder | Term start | Term end | Time in office |
| 1 | Sr Bertrand Corbett | 1937 | 1960 | 22–23 years |
| 2 | Stephanie Horne | 1961 | 1966 | 4–5 years |
| 3 | Martha Hayward | 1967 | 1970 | 2–3 years |
| 4 | Consilli Flynn | 1971 | 1975 | 3–4 years |
| 5 | Perpetua della Marta | 1976 | 1979 | 2–3 years |
| 6 | Sheila Sawle | 1980 | 1989 | 8–9 years |
| 7 | Frank Owen | 1989 | 2000 | 10–11 years |
| 8 | Anne Pitos | 2000 | 2008 | 7–8 years |
| 9 | Greg Clune | 2009 | 2010 | 0–1 years |
| 10 | Ian Elder | 2010 | 2018 | 7–8 years |
| 11 | Jennifer Oaten | 2018 | incumbent | 6–7 years |

## House system

Before the current house system came into operation the students were divided into teams – which were essentially for sporting carnivals. The houses were initially School (red), Mercian (white), Trinity (Blue), however, as the number of students increased a fourth team was added in 1963 – Xavier (gold) Santa Maria College, as with most Australian schools, utilises a House system. Students are divided into eight Houses, for the purpose of morning meetings in House groups and Homerooms, and intra-school competition. The Houses are named after notable figures in the Sisters of Mercy's heritage in Western Australia. Dillon, de la Hoyde, Frayne, Kelly, O'Donnell, and O'Reilly are named after six of the Sisters who journeyed to Western Australia from Ireland and set up the first Catholic High School in the state – Victoria Square School, now known as Mercedes College. In 2007, two new houses were added – Corbett, named after the school's first Principal, Bertrand Corbett, and Byrne.
Each House competes to earn points towards the "McAuley Shield" through various interhouse events including: swimming, athletics, cross-country, volleyball, soccer, debating, and public speaking. In 2007, the interhouse events were expanded to include an arts festival after the lobbying of several students for more events that were not sports-orientated. The arts festival required each house to prepare a short play to showcase their acting abilities. As of 2013 this festival has been replaced by a theatresports competition.

## Boarding

The boarding community is home to 150 girls, predominantly from rural WA. The community is divided into four individual houses. Two housemothers are assigned to each house.

## Uniform

The summer uniform consists of a green and white dress, white socks, and black leather shoes. The winter uniform consists of a school blazer, green jumper; green, red, and white tartan skirt; bottle green, red, and white striped tie; and black stockings. The sport uniform consists of a white shirt and red shorts.

## Notable alumnae

* Lieutenant Colonel Helen Adamson (1943) – nurse; Matron-in-Chief, Royal Australian Army Nursing Corps; awarded the Royal Red Cross in 1981
* Jessica Bennett – guitarist; founding member of the alternative rock/pop punk band, Lash
* Emma Booth – model and actress
* Lucy Chaffer (2000) – skeleton racer; competed in the 2014 Winter Olympics
* Dorothy Clarke (1938) – paediatric nurse
* Geraldine Doogue AO (1968) – journalist, broadcaster and author
* Annette Goerke (née Parkes, 1956) – organist; recipient of a Churchill Fellowship; awarded the Crucem Pro Ecclesia et Pontifice for her services to St Mary's Cathedral
* Carmen Lawrence (1964) – former politician and academic; the first female Premier of Western Australia and the first woman to become the premier of an Australian state; subsequently a Minister in the Keating government
* Judith Lucy – stand-up comedian, radio presenter and actress, including starring in Crackerjack
* Rose McAleer AM (1947) – pathologist
* Irene McCormack RSJ (1954) – religious sister; teacher; missionary; executed by the Shining Path Guerrilla group in 1991
* Marie Mahood (née Healy, 1943) – journalist, teacher and author
* Ashleigh Nelson (2004) – hockey player; completed in the 2012 Olympics; 2010 Commonwealth Games Gold Medalist
* Sue Palfreyman (née James, 1969 – rower; completed in the 1980 Olympics
* Jaclyn Pearson – percussionist; founding member of the alternative rock/pop punk band, Lash
* Ailsa Piper (1976) – actor in both stage and television productions and is best known for her appearance in Neighbours; author
* Robyn Mary Quin – teacher and academic; Pro Vice-Chancellor (Teaching and Learning) at the Curtin University of Technology
* Belinda-Lee Reid – vocalist, guitarist; founding member of the alternative rock/pop punk band, Lash
* Prue-Anne Reynalds (1974) – cyclist; 1984 and 1992 Paralympics
* Lisa Russ (née Oldenhof, 1996) – kayaker; competed in the 2004 and 2008 Olympics
* Micaela Slayford – vocalist; bassist; founding member of the alternative rock/pop punk band, Lash
* Halina Szunejko OAM, MPR (née Czekalowska, 1954) – community activist; teacher; writer
* Charmaine Bingwa (1985) – actress