The Associated Independent Colleges, or AIC, is a group of independent secondary schools in south-east Queensland, Australia. With the exception of St Peters Lutheran College, AIC schools are all-boys schools (St Peter's secondary girls compete in the Queensland Girls' Secondary Schools Sports Association).
The AIC was founded in 1998 as an athletic association for male secondary students. All eight colleges were formerly members of The Associated Schools (TAS), founded in 1956. Some colleges were originally members of the Metropolitan Catholic Schools Association (MCSA), founded in 1934. The most prominent sports contested include rugby union, cricket and football, as well as swimming and track and field.
History The Associated Independent Colleges was formed in 1998 with the first year of competition being 1999. All AIC members were previously in The Associated Schools (TAS). The TAS had expanded to include fifteen schools by the mid 1990s and the standard of competition was falling. The colleges with the strongest athletic programs in the TAS competition's top division moved to form the AIC.
After the AIC was founded, only one all-boys school remained in TAS, the now defunct Marist Brothers College Rosalie. In protest of the departure of the eight AIC schools from TAS competition, all TAS schools with a primary school attached withdrew from the Combined Independent Colleges (CIC) association for private primary schools in 1998. Six of the Associated Independent Colleges were foundation members of the CIC.
The Combined Independent Colleges association was dissolved in 2013. Primary schools attached to AIC schools had previously competed against their Great Public Schools (GPS) counterparts within the CIC, but the headmasters of the GPS and AIC associations expanded their respective competitions in 2014 to include primary students from grades 5–7.
Schools Member school Location Enrolmentmyschool.edu.au Year founded Denomination Day or boarding Entered competition School coloursIona CollegeLindum16171958CatholicDay1998Black and whiteMarist College AshgroveAshgrove16351940CatholicDay & Boarding1998Blue and goldPadua CollegeKedron14621956CatholicDay1998Brown, grey, white and goldSt Edmund's CollegeIpswich10261892CatholicDay1998Blue & whiteSt Laurence's CollegeSouth Brisbane19051915CatholicDay1998Black and goldSt Patrick's CollegeShorncliffe13321952CatholicDay1998Green and goldSt Peters Lutheran CollegeIndooroopilly20431945LutheranDay & Boarding1998Maroon and whiteVillanova CollegeCoorparoo12691948CatholicDay1998Green and gold
Starting in 2022, Ambrose Treacy College, Indooroopilly was invited to become a guest member for a two-year time span.
Sports There are currently ten sports officially contested within the AIC:
Athletics (track and field) Basketball Cricket Chess Cross country running
Football (soccer) Rugby union Swimming Tennis Volleyball
Four other sports are also offered:
Australian rules football Golf
Rugby league Water polo
Water polo is played as a social competition in Term 4. An invitational golf day is also held in Term 4, with the annual Gordon Balharry Shield awarded to the AIC school with the best team score on an adjusted handicap basis. Rugby league and Australian rules football competitions were introduced on a two-year opt-in trial basis for 2019.
Ashgrove, Iona and St Laurence's have traditionally been prominent in the rugby competitions, although Padua has enjoyed recent success. St Peters, Villanova and Padua have tended to field strong soccer teams. St Patrick's has had success in cross country and Ashgrove and Iona have won the most titles in athletics and swimming.
The sporting calendar for the AIC is split into terms:
1st: Australian football Cricket Volleyball Swimming 2nd: Chess Football Rugby union 3rd: Basketball Cross country Rugby league Tennis 4th: Athletics Golf Water polo
The championships for swimming, cross country, track and field athletics and golf are held on a single day. The other sports are played in a round-robin format (no finals) with each school playing all others once. Premierships in each grade, for age divisions from under 13 to open, are won by the teams with most points over the season. The premierships for the schools' first teams in each sport, particularly the First XV rugby, tend to attract the most interest.
Championships
Athletics (track and field) Winning teams on aggregate points for all age groups: Year Winner1999Ashgrove2000Iona2001Iona2002Iona2003Ashgrove2004Ashgrove2005Ashgrove2006Iona2007Iona2008Iona2009Iona2010Iona2011Iona2012St Edmund's2013St Edmund's2014St Edmund's2015Ashgrove2016Ashgrove2017Ashgrove2018Ashgrove2019Ashgrove2020Ashgrove2021Ashgrove2022Ashgrove2023Ashgrove2024Ashgrove2025Ashgrove
Championships – Ashgrove (15), Iona (9), St Edmund's (3).
Cross Country Winning teams on aggregate points for all age groups: Year Winner1999Iona2000Iona2001Iona2002Ashgrove2003St Laurence's2004St Laurence's2005Ashgrove2006Iona2007Iona2008Ashgrove2009Ashgrove2010St Patrick's2011Iona St Patrick's2012Ashgrove St Patrick's2013St Patrick's2014Ashgrove St Patrick's2015Iona2016Iona2017Ashgrove2018Ashgrove2019Ashgrove2020Ashgrove2021Ashgrove2022Ashgrove2023Iona2024Ashgrove2025Ashgrove2026Ashgrove indicates shared championship Championships – Ashgrove (15), Iona (9), St Patrick's (5), St Laurence's (2).
Swimming Winning teams on aggregate points for all age groups: Year Winner1999St Peter's2000St Peter's2001Ashgrove2002Ashgrove2003Ashgrove Iona2004Iona2005Ashgrove2006Ashgrove2007Ashgrove2008Ashgrove2009Ashgrove2010Ashgrove2011Ashgrove2012St Peter's2013Ashgrove2014St Peter's2015Ashgrove2016Ashgrove2017St Peter's2018St Peter's2019St Peter's2020St Peter's2021St Peter's2022St Peter's2023St Peter's2024St Peter's2025St Peter's2026St Peter's indicates shared championship Championships – Ashgrove (13), St Peters (13), Iona (2).
Premierships
First XV Rugby List of First XV premiers and runners-up: Year Premiers Runners-up1999Ashgrove*Padua2000Iona St Peter'sSt Laurence's2001Ashgrove St Laurence'sIona2002Ashgrove*Villanova2003Ashgrove*St Laurence's2004Ashgrove*St Laurence's2005Ashgrove*St Laurence's2006Ashgrove*St Patrick's2007Ashgrove*St Laurence's2008St Laurence's*Ashgrove2009Ashgrove IonaSt Laurence's Villanova2010Villanova*Ashgrove St Laurence's2011Ashgrove Padua St Edmund's Iona2012St Peter's*Ashgrove2013Iona*St Edmund's St Peter's2014St Edmund's*Ashgrove Padua2015Padua*Ashgrove2016Padua*St Patrick's2017Ashgrove*St Patrick's2018Ashgrove Iona St Patrick's Villanova2019Ashgrove*PaduaSt Laurence'sVillanova2020Ashgrove* St Laurence's*Padua St Patrick's2021St Laurence's*Ashgrove2022St Laurence's*St Edmund's2023St Laurence’s*Padua2024Padua*Ashgrove2025Padua*Ashgrove2026Ashgrove*VillanovaLegend indicates undefeated season indicates shared premiership for the year Premierships – Ashgrove (15), St Laurence's (6), Padua (5), Iona (4), St Peters (2), St Edmund's (2), St Patrick's (1), Villanova (1).
Notes:
First XI Cricket List of First XI premiers and runners-up: Year Premiers Runners-up1999IonaAshgrove2000IonaVillanova2001VillanovaSt Laurence's2002VillanovaSt Laurence's2003AshgroveSt Laurence's2004IonaSt Laurence's2005AshgrovePadua2006IonaPadua2007IonaSt Laurence's2008St Laurence's*Iona2009AshgrovePadua2010AshgroveSt Laurence's Villanova2011AshgroveSt Patrick's2012Ashgrove Iona Padua VillanovaSt Peter's2013VillanovaAshgrove2014Ashgrove*Villanova2015AshgroveSt Patrick's Villanova2016IonaSt Laurence's2017St Laurence's*Ashgrove2018Ashgrove St Patrick'sVillanova2019Villanova*Ashgrove2020St Patrick's*Villanova2021VillanovaAshgroveSt Patrick's2022IonaAshgroveSt Patrick's2023AshgroveSt Patrick'sSt Peter'sVillanova2024IonaSt Peter's2025AshgroveVillanova2026Ashgrove*VillanovaLegend indicates undefeated season indicates shared premiership for the year Premierships – Ashgrove (11), Iona (9), Villanova (6), St Laurence's (2), St Patrick's (2), Padua (1).
First XI Football List of First XI premiers and runners-up: Year Premiers Runners-up1999PaduaSt Laurence's2000AshgrovePadua2001PaduaSt Laurence's2002St Laurence'sAshgrove2003AshgrovePadua2004AshgroveSt Laurence's2005VillanovaIona2006St Laurence's*Ashgrove2007VillanovaSt Laurence's2008AshgrovePadua2009AshgroveSt Laurence's2010AshgrovePadua2011AshgroveVillanova2012Villanova*St Laurence's2013Villanova St Patrick'sPadua2014St Peter's*2015IonaSt Patrick'sSt Laurence's2016St Edmund'sSt Patrick's2017Iona*St Patrick's2018IonaSt Patrick's2019AshgroveSt Laurence's2020Ashgrove St Patrick'sSt Peter's Villanova2021AshgroveSt Laurence's Villanova2022St Laurence's • VillanovaIona • St Peter’s2023IonaSt Laurence's2024AshgroveSt Patrick's2025AshgroveSt Patrick's2026AshgroveSt Laurence'sLegend indicates undefeated season indicates shared premiership for the year Premierships – Ashgrove (13), Villanova (5), Iona (4), St Patrick's (3), St Laurence's (3), Padua (2), St Edmund's (1), St Peters (1).
First VI Volleyball List of First VI premiers and runners-up: Year Premiers Runners-up1999St Edmund's2000Villanova2001Padua2002Villanova2003St Edmund'sAshgrovePadua2004Ashgrove2005St Edmund'sAshgrove2006PaduaAshgrove2007Ashgrove2008St Edmund's2009AshgroveSt Patrick's2010AshgroveSt Edmund's2011St Edmund'sAshgrove2012St Laurence's St Peter's Villanova2013St Peter's2014St Laurence'sSt Peter's2015St Patrick's*St Laurence's2016Padua*St Laurence's2017Ashgrove*2018Iona*St Laurence's2019Iona*Ashgrove2020St Laurence'sPadua2021Ashgrove*St Laurence'sVillanova2022Villanova*St Peters2023St Peter's*Iona2024Iona*VillanovaSt Peter's2025Iona*St Laurence'sSt Edmund's 2026Iona*St LaurencesLegend indicates undefeated season indicates shared premiership for the year
Premierships – Ashgrove (6), St Edmund's (5), Iona (5), Villanova (4), St Peters (3), Padua (3), St Laurence's (3), St Patrick's (1).
First V Basketball List of First V premiers: Year Premiers Runners-up1999Ashgrove2000Ashgrove2001St Edmund's2002Ashgrove Villanova2003Ashgrove2004Ashgrove Villanova2005Ashgrove IonaPadua2006Ashgrove St Edmund's2007Iona St Peter'sAshgrove2008IonaPadua2009Iona Padua VillanovaSt Laurence's2010PaduaSt Laurence's2011St Laurence'sPadua Villanova2012VillanovaSt Patrick's2013VillanovaAshgrove2014Padua*St Patrick's2015St Patrick's*St Peter's2016Ashgrove*St Patrick's2017Ashgrove St Edmund'sSt. Laurence's2018AshgroveSt Edmund's2019Villanova*St Edmund's2020 St Edmund's* Villanova2021 Villanova* Padua2022 Villanova* St Peter's2023 Villanova* St Peter's2024Villanova*St Patrick's2025Villanova*St Edmund'sLegend indicates undefeated season indicates shared premiership for the year Premierships – Villanova (11), Ashgrove (10), Iona (4), St Edmund's (4), Padua (3), St Laurence's (1), St Patrick's (1), St Peters (1).
First IV Tennis List of First IV premiers: Year Premiers Runners-up1999St Peter's2000Villanova2001PaduaAshgrove2002Villanova2003AshgrovePadua2004Villanova2005St Edmund's Villanova2006St Patrick'sAshgrove2007Ashgrove2008Ashgrove2009AshgroveSt Peter's2010AshgroveSt Laurence's2011AshgrovePadua2012VillanovaAshgrove2013St Peter'sVillanova2014St Peter's2015St Peter'sVillanova2016St Peter's2017St Peter's*Iona2018St Peter's*Padua2019St Peter's*Padua2020St Peter's* St Laurence's*PaduaIona2021Iona2022Iona*Ashgrove2023St Peter’s*St Laurence’s2024St Peter’s*AshgroveLegend indicates undefeated season indicates shared premiership for the year Premierships - St Peters (11), Ashgrove (6), Villanova (5), Iona (2), Padua (1), St Edmund's (1), St Patrick's (1), St Laurence's (1)
First IV Chess The AIC chess competition began in 2004. List of First IV premiers: