Marcellin College Randwick is an independent systemic Catholic secondary day school for boys, located in Randwick, a suburb in the Eastern Suburbs of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. Founded by the Marist Brothers in 1923, the college is overseen by the Sydney Catholic Schools of the Archdiocese of Sydney. The school currently caters for approximately 960 students from Years 7 to 12.
The college is affiliated with the Association of Marist Schools of Australia (AMSA) and was previously a member of the Metropolitan Catholic Colleges Sports Association (MCC).
History Marist Brothers founded the college as part of the worldwide Congregation of Marist Colleges which began in 1816 under the guidance of the French priest, Marcellin Champagnat SM.
Archbishop Kelly visited Randwick in 1921, and pressed for the establishment of a school for boys. Land became available in Alison Rd and on 4 November 1922 Dr Sheehan laid the first stone which now forms part of the College Wall. Dr Cyril Fallon campaigned for funds. Br Walstan Curtin was the first headmaster, and welcomed the first students on 29 January 1923. Originally the brothers traveled from Darlinghurst and Hunters Hill, until Br Aquinas managed to purchase the house adjoining the college, and then it became the living quarters for the Brothers. The Marist Brothers have managed the college ever since.
The College celebrated its 90 Year Anniversary in 2013 with a range of special events, celebrations & functions. A new College Sculpture, named Eternity was erected in 2013 in honour of the college's 90 Year landmark and as part of a major revamp of the college's courtyard. It was commissioned and sculpted by sculptor Col Henry. It was blessed on 17 May 2013 at the college's 90 Year Gala Dinner.
In early 2014, major capital works commenced at Marcellin. Planning for these works had been underway since late 2011. The scope of the works includes:
a new library with additional learning spaces and major internal refurbishment a multi-purpose space to replace the Year 7 rooftop playground a new canteen landscaping in the bottom yard Food Technology and Hospitality facilities a Drama performance space alterations to the Marist Centre
The works were completed by the beginning of the 2015 school year.
At the end of the 2014 academic year, Br David Hall concluded his term as Headmaster at Marcellin College. Mr John Hickey was later appointed as his successor, becoming the 24th and first lay Headmaster of the college.
Headmasters The following individuals have served as Headmaster of Marcellin College Randwick: Ordinal Headmaster Term start Term end Time in office Notes Br Walstan Curtin FMS 1923 1925 years Br Andrew Power FMS 1926 1931 years Br Ignatius O’Connor FMS 1932 1937 years Br Damian Willis FMS 1938 1940 years Br Louis Hughes FMS 1941 1941 years Br Albertus Sellenger FMS 1942 1944 years Br Quentin Duffy FMS 1945 1950 years Br Edmundus Larkin FMS 1951 1955 years Br Bede Yates FMS 1956 1956 years Br Anselm Saunders FMS 1957 1962 years Br Wilfrid Quail FMS 1963 1965 years Br Laurence McKeon FMS 1966 1967 years Br Demetrius Redford FMS 1968 1973 years Br Kenneth Sim FMS 1974 1977 years Br Roger Burke FMS 1978 1983 years Br Paul Fensom FMS 1984 1984 years Br Ernest Houston FMS 1985 1986 years Br Anthony Robinson FMS 1987 1989 years Br Robert O’Connor FMS 1990 1994 years Br Patrick Howlett FMS 1995 2001 years Br Robert Sutton FMS 2002 2002 years Br William Sullivan FMS 2003 March 2010 years Br David Hall FMS April 2010 2014 years John Hickey 2015 September 2018 years Mark Woolford October 2018 incumbent years
Academic
Marcellin College has always achieved strong academic results, with students regularly attaining Universities Admission Index (UAI) scores of over 90. In 2005, student Christopher Beshara achieved a UAI 100, the first student in Marcellin College Randwick to achieve a UAI 100 - many other students achieving over UAI 91 annually. Following the release of the 2007 NSW Higher School Certificate (HSC) results, The Daily Telegraph ranked Marcellin College 78th in the top 200 best performing schools in New South Wales. In addition to HSC success, the school has achieved in academic pursuits such as debating, oratory and chess.
Houses House name Colour NotesAnselm Bowen Fallon Ignatius
Sport Marcellin College was a former member of the Metropolitan Catholic Colleges (MCC) sport program. Through this association, the college competed against schools such as Marist College Kogarah, Christian Brothers' High School, Lewisham, De La Salle College Ashfield, Marist Catholic College North Shore, Champagnat Catholic College Pagewood, St. Leo's Catholic College and LaSalle Catholic College, Bankstown, in a variety of sports including swimming, athletics, soccer, rugby league, tennis, golf, volleyball, touch football, basketball, squash and cricket. (Also rugby union, but it was disbanded in 2009).
Traditionally, Marcellin College has a strong history in sport (see below) with many students progressing to the elite level in their chosen sport, notably in rugby league, along with swimming.
Notable alumni Marcellin College Randwick alumni are traditionally known as "Old Boys", with the school's Alumni association called the "Marcellin College Ex-Students Association". Some notable Marcellin Old Boys include:
Business Charlie Bell – former president and CEO of McDonald's
Clergy and religious Br Charles Howard FMS – Superior General of the Marist Brothers 1985–1993 Most Rev David Walker – Bishop of Broken Bay 1996–2013
Entertainment, media and the arts Mitchell Butel – actor Luke Carroll – actor Kerry Casey – actor Jon Cleary – author James Galea – magician and actor Bob Hornery – actor Peter James – cinematographer and director of photography Michael Lynch – arts administrator
Medicine and science Merv Cross – doctor of sports medicine and rugby league player
Politics, public service and the law Lionel Bowen – politician; Deputy Prime Minister of Australia from 1983 to 1990 Michael Daley – politician; Attorney General of New South Wales since 2023. John Lawrence O'Meally – judge Greg Smith – politician; Attorney General of New South Wales from 2011 to 2015. Rafał Trzaskowski – politician; Mayor of Warsaw since 2018, ran for President of Poland in 2020 and 2025.
Sport Malcolm Allen – swimmer Braith Anasta – rugby league player Tom Bellew – former chairman of the New South Wales Rugby League and Director of the Australian Rugby League Luke Branighan – rugby league player Shawn Budd – snooker player Richard Chee Quee – first player of Chinese origin to play first-class cricket in Australia Michael Cheika – rugby union coach and former rugby union player, Australian national team (Wallabies) head coach since 2014, NSW Waratahs coach 2013–2015 Jason Clark – rugby league player Ben Davis – AFL player for the Adelaide Crows Denis Donoghue – boxer & rugby league player Andrew Durante – football player, Wellington Phoenix FC captain, 2008 Joe Marston Medal recipient Jordan Foote – AFL player Dr Nathan Gibbs – rugby league player Campbell Graham – rugby league player Aaron Gray – rugby league player Errol Gulden – AFL player Marty Gurr – rugby league player Lachlan Lam – rugby league player Reni Maitua – rugby league player Darren Maroon – rugby league player Shannan McPherson – rugby league player Jeff Orford – rugby league player Rick Pendleton – paralympic swimmer Willie Peters – rugby league player Eddy Pettybourne – rugby league player Sam Robson – Australian-English first-class cricketer Iosia Soliola – rugby league player John Sutton – rugby league player Tom Symonds – rugby league player Peter Tunks – rugby league player Joe Williams – rugby league player and professional boxer Ken Wright – rugby union and rugby league player
See also
List of Catholic schools in New South Wales Catholic education in Australia
References
External links Marcellin College Randwick Website