# St Joseph's College, Geelong

St Joseph's College (sometimes referred to colloquially as Joeys or SJC) is an independent Catholic secondary school for boys, located in the inner Geelong suburb of Newtown, Victoria, Australia. The school was founded by the Congregation of Christian Brothers in 1935, who continue to run the school, and provides education from year 7–12, offering a broad range of curricular choices for its students in middle and senior schools including VCE, VET and VCE-VM .
In 2014 the Year 9 Westcourt Campus began operation, and the Joseph Innovation Trade Training Centre also commenced classes offering a broad range of study options. The current principal is Tony Paatsch. The two Deputy Principals are Lisa Pope and Mark Kennedy.

## History

Edmund Rice of Waterford, Ireland founded the congregation of Christian Brothers in 1802 for the Christian education of boys, particularly those from less affluent backgrounds. St Joseph's College Geelong was founded in 1935 by the Christian Brothers as a day school and, by 1940, had added a boarding school. Today it is a day school only, providing a comprehensive education for boys within the Geelong Region. The college's motto Ad Alta Virtute in Latin, translates as 'Strive for the Highest' in English.egg

## Curriculum

St Joseph's 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 | 89 | 32 | 11.3 | 359 |
| 2013 | 99 | 32 | 10.9 | 412 |
| 2014 | 123 | 31 | 9.8 | 376 |
| 2015 | 91 | 32 | 11.6 | 374 |
| 2016 | 124 | 31 | 9.4 | 392 |
| 2017 | 119 | 31 | 10 | 387 |
| 2018 | 126 | 31 | 9.8 | 433 |
| 2019 | 118 | 31 | 11.4 | 491 |
| 2020 | 126 | 31 | 8.8 | 458 |
| 2021 | 133 | 31 | 8.3 | 440 |
| 2022 | 180 | 30 | 7.4 | 425 |
| 2023 | 203 | 30 | 5.2 | 489 |
| 2024 | 192 | 30 | 5.8 | 465 |

## Campuses
### Edmund Rice Campus

The Edmund Rice campus of St Joseph's College is located on Aphrasia Street, in the suburb of Newtown.

### Westcourt Campus

The Westcourt campus of St Joseph's College is located on Minerva Road, in the suburb of Herne Hill. The campus caters for Year 9 students and has a chapel on the campus, that opened in 2016.

## House system

St Joseph's College runs a house system which is based on points earned. There are four houses at St Joseph's College: Brophy, Butler, Foley and Jordan. Each house is named in honour of four Brothers who gave outstanding service to the college. Upon entering Year 7, all boys attending St Joseph's are assigned a house. There is a house captain and vice for each house. The houses compete for the Adam Bryant Memorial House Competition Shield, awarded in memory of Adam, a student between 1982–1992 and former House Captain at St Joseph's College, who died as a result of a car accident in 1993. Points are awarded for participation in a variety of activities and initiatives throughout the school year, including swimming and athletics days, Edmund Rice Day, Blood Bank, Peter Larkins Hill Run and many more. The houses are as follows:
| House | House | House | Name origin |
| Colour | Name | Nickname | Name origin |
| | Brophy | Bees | Brother Brophy, Teacher 1935–1941 |
| | Butler | Sharks | Brother Butler, Principal 1935–1940 |
| | Foley | Falcons | Brother Foley, Principal 1942–1944 |
| | Jordan | Redbacks | Brother Jordan, Principal 1940–1941 |

## Sport

St Joseph's is a member of the Associated Catholic Colleges (ACC).
St Joseph's has won the following ACC premierships:
* Cricket – 2020
* Cross Country – 2017
* Football (6) – 1994, 2006, 2007, 2010, 2015, 2016
* Golf – 2018
* Soccer (4) – 2005, 2006, 2009, 2013

## Notable alumni
### Entertainment, media and the arts

* Mark Beretta – journalist; former ten-time Australian champion in water skiing
* Mitch Cleary – sports reporter, Channel 7
* Peter Larkins – sports doctor and presenter on The Sunday Footy Show
* Xavier Rudd – folk singer

### Politics, religion, welfare, public service and the law

* The Hon. Justice Bernard Bongiorno AO – Supreme Court Judge
* John Hyde – former Member for Perth, former Shadow Minister for Culture and the Arts; Multicultural Interests; Planning; Heritage

### Sports

* Jimmy Bartel – Australian rules footballer for Geelong Cats
* Damian Bourke – former Australian rules footballer for Geelong Cats and Brisbane Bears
* Tim Bourke – former Australian rules footballer for Geelong Cats
* Allen Christensen – Australian rules footballer for Brisbane Lions and Geelong Cats
* Terry Callan – Australian rules footballer for Geelong
* Tim Darcy – Australian rules footballer for Geelong
* Luke Dahlhaus – Australian rules footballer for Geelong Cats
* Tom Doedee – Australian rules footballer for Adelaide
* Brayden Ham – Australian rules footballer for Essendon
* Jack Henry – Australian rules footballer for Geelong Cats
* Shaun Higgins – Australian rules footballer for North Melbourne
* Cameron Johnston – NFL player for Philadelphia Eagles and Houston Texans
* Cameron Ling – Australian rules footballer for Geelong Cats
* Matt Ling – Australian rules footballer playing for Sydney Swans
* Michael Mansfield – Australian rules footballer
* Patrick McCartin – Australian rules footballer for St Kilda Saints
* Tom McCartin – Australian rules footballer for Sydney Swans
* Nick Maxwell – Australian rules footballer for Collingwood Magpies
* Jackson Nelson – Australian rules footballer
* Jasper Pittard – Australian rules footballer for Port Adelaide
* Matthew Scarlett – Australian rules footballer for Geelong Cats
* John Scarlett – Australian rules footballer
* Sam Simpson – Australian rules footballer for Geelong Cats
* George Sotiropoulos – MMA fighter in the lightweight division of the UFC
* Josh Spence – baseball player; MLB pitcher for the San Diego Padres
* Matthew Spiranovic – soccer player; represented the Socceroos and Qatar Stars League team Al-Arabi
* Tom Stewart – Australian rules footballer for Geelong Cats
* Barry Stoneham – former Australian rules footballer for Geelong Cats
* Oliver Henry – Australian rules footballer for Geelong
* Sam Walsh – Australian rules footballer for Carlton Blues
* Ned Reeves – Australian rules footballer for Hawthorn
* Tanner Bruhn – Australian rules footballer for Geelong
* Charlie Lazzaro – Australian rules footballer for North Melbourne
* Darcy Gardiner – Australian rules footballer for Brisbane Lions
* Michael Woolnough – Australian rules footballer
* Fraser Murphy – Australian rules player for Carlton
* Leo Turner – Australian rules player
* Bill McMaster – Australian rules footballer
* Kevin Higgins – Australian rules footballer
* Jim Fitzgerald – Australian rules footballer