St Kevin's College is a private Catholic primary and secondary school for boys located in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. The college has three campuses, two of which are in the suburb of Toorak, the third in Richmond. The school also has playing fields located behind Stockland Tooronga. The school formerly owned a campsite 'Silver Creek' in the town of Flowerdale which was completely destroyed by the Black Saturday bushfires.

St Kevin's was founded in 1918 by the Christian Brothers and is a member of the Associated Public Schools of Victoria. St Kevin's overlooks Gardiners Creek, a tributary that runs into the Yarra River, with Scotch College on the opposite side. The college has a long-standing tradition with the historic St. Patrick's Cathedral and is responsible for educating their choir boys.

The Archdiocese of Melbourne provides oversight of St Kevin's, and as of December 1 2023 it's governance is held by an independent body with its own board, following the transfer of assets and administration from the Trustees of Edmund Rice Education Australia (TEREA).

History

The school was established in 1918 on the corner of Albert St and Eades St, East Melbourne, by the Christian Brothers as St Kevin's Central College with the purpose of being a school where the "brainy boys" of the other Christian Brothers Schools could further their education. In 1932, the school was moved to the corner of St George and Orrong Roads, Toorak. Property in Heyington was purchased and developed into playing fields for the use of all Christian Brothers Schools. This location is now the Senior School Campus, housing Years 7 to 8, and Years 10 through to Year 12, in a vertical house system.

The Heyington Campus, which is next to the Glen Waverley railway line, was built in 1960, its main feature being the Kearney Building.

The Lansell Road property was opened in 1972, and that same year the Orrong Road property was sold.

In 1982, the K.C. Smith building was constructed for the middle school years on the Senior Campus. In 1990, the Pavilion was opened. Since its opening, the Pavilion has flooded twice, both in 2005. Ovals 1 and 2 were completely submerged.

The Cummins Building was refurbished in 1997, and currently houses the creative arts precinct, which includes arts, drama, music and artistic works. The McCarthy Building was opened that year, housing art studios, the campus library and the Administration Block.

The Lansell Road property is now home to the Glendalough Campus, and in 1999 became a full primary school, housing Prep to Year 6 students. Also in 1999, Year 9 students moved from the Senior Campus to a dedicated campus named Waterford in Richmond. Waterford currently resides in the former Vaucluse College FCJ site in Richmond. 1999 saw a major change in the structure of the school, with the introduction of the House System for Years 10 to 12. This saw the desegregation of year levels and their amalgamation into houses with five tutor groups comprising Year 10, Year 11 and Year 12 boys, accompanied by a tutor. Previously, boys were organised by year levels, and supervised by Year Level Coordinators, somewhat similar to the current system found in the Middle School (Years 7 to 9).

In March 2006, a $16 million indoor pool, gym and sports facility, the Wilding Centre, was blessed by Cardinal George Pell and opened for the students.

In 2009, the Godfrey Building was opened.

In 2010, the Boyd Egan Hall was opened at Glendalough and substantial floods filled the school's ovals and damaged the Fraser Tennis Courts.

In 2011, work began on a three-storey $14  million Science Wing, located adjacent to Heyington railway station at the end of the Kearney Building.

In 2013, the Kearney West Building was officially opened. The building contains science labs and woodwork rooms, which are used for senior classes.

In 2014, the McMahon Music Centre was opened at Glendalough and the remaining laboratories in the Kearney Building were refurbished. Music and drama facilities in the Cummins Building were modernised as well.

In 2017, the Tooronga Fields Campus was opened as the St Kevin's offsite sports ground.

2018 saw St Kevin's College celebrate its centenary year. A special 100-year logo was created and was used throughout the school year as well as on ties and a badge that the students received. Several celebrations were conducted, including a free lunch provided by the school, intended to pay homage to the older traditions of the College chartering a train from Heyington railway station to other parts of Melbourne for a school picnic. Special events such as "The Great Debate", featuring generations of St Kevin's old boys, took place, and a limited-edition 100-year history of the college was published for students and staff.

Campuses

St Kevin's College has five campuses: Glendalough – The St Kevin's College Junior School in Lansell Road, Toorak, is named after the location of the St Kevin's Monastery in Ireland. It houses students from Prep to Year 6. Heyington – In 1932, the current site of the Heyington Campus was purchased and at the time was used for playing fields. It now serves as the main academic campus for Years 7, 8, 10, 11 and 12. Waterford – Purchased by St Kevin's College in the early 2000s for the Year 9 campus and situated on Richmond Hill, it occupies the facilities of the former Vaucluse College. St Peter's – An Early Learning Centre that is a co-venture with Loreto Mandeville Hall, this site is home to kindergarten students. Tooronga – Opened on 17 June 2017 at a cost of $38 million, the Tooronga Fields Campus is a sports complex which consists of three soccer pitches as well as an Australian Rules oval. There are also 12 tennis courts that can be used as a hockey pitch. The site also includes a 200-metre athletics track with high jump and long jump training areas as well as 12 cricket nets, two pavilions containing unisex change rooms, viewing areas, half a basketball court and a function centre.

Houses The Houses for the Senior (Years 10 to 12) and Middle (Years 7 to 8) Schools are named after Christian Brothers associated with the college. They are: +St Kevin's College – Middle and Senior School HousesHouse Colour Established Named after MottoCusack 1999 N/AKearney 1999 Kenny 1999 N/AMcCarthy 2008 Purton 1999 N/ARahill 2010 The original 'Foundation' Houses are Cusack, Kearney, Kenny and Purton. These Houses are located in their original areas in the Kearney Building. The 'Extension' Houses are McCarthy and Rahill, added to extend the capacity of the House system in their years of establishment. McCarthy House occupies the former Brothers' Quarters in the Cummins Building, while Rahill House occupies a purpose-built area in the Godfrey Building.

Boys are assigned their House at their entry point into St Kevin's College, however during Years 7 to 9, they primarily serve as a means of organisation for co-curricular competitions such as House Swimming, House Athletics and House Sports.

Curriculum St Kevin's College offers its Years 11 and 12 students the Victorian Certificate of Education (VCE), the main assessment program which ranks the students in the state.

The class of 2009 were the highest-performing academic group in the history of the modern VCE for St Kevin's College, making St Kevin's the top-performing, non-selective, all boys, Catholic and Associated Public Schools of Victoria-member school in 2009. 33 per cent of study scores were 40 or over, and 14 perfect scores were achieved across 10 subjects. +St Kevin's College VCE results 2011–2021Year Rank Medianstudy score Scores of40+ (%) Cohortsize2011 14 31 23.3 3252012  16 36  28.1 3542013  21 36  27.1 3622014  34 35  22.1 3582015  13 36  29.3 3462016  21 35  27.1 3602017  5 37  30.8 3712018  7 36  30.2 3582019  14 36  27.5 3502020  19 35  25.9 3562021  24 35  22 3782022  23 35  24 35120232335243582024 2535 23.73792025 2235 23.6392

Publications The English curriculum at St Kevin's allows for boys to develop their skills in the communication of ideas and is put into practice through the numerous publications that can be found in the college, each of which is aimed towards a certain audience, and has its own individual purpose.

Senior School Newsletterdistributed weekly during semesters to parents, students, staff, members of the SKC Community (Years 7 to 12) Junior School Newsletterdistributed weekly during semesters to parents, students, staff, members of the SKC Community (Prep to Year 6) Omniamagazine issued once per school term to parents, students, staff, members of the SKC Community, alumni, prospective parents, prospective students (Prep to Year 12) The Waterford Chroniclestudent run newspaper issued once per school term to students and teachers (Year 9) – Now defunct The Purtonian – student run newspaper issued twice a term to students and teachers in Purton House (Years 10 to 12) The Kenny Post – student run newspaper issued to students and teachers in Kenny House (Years 10 to 12) The Kearney Magazine – student run newspaper issued to students and teachers in Kearney house (Years 10 to 12) The Cusackian – student run newspaper issued to students and teachers in Cusack house (Years 10 to 12)

Extracurricular activities

The school has a number of extracurricular activities.

Debating and public speaking St Kevin's competes in the Debaters Association of Victoria Schools competition, and the Heyington Campus is the host venue for the Toorak regional competition. Five debates are held each year, and St Kevin's teams debate against other Melbourne schools on various current interest topics. St Kevin's participates in a range of other debating and public speaking tournaments, including those organised by Rotary, the RSL, UNYA and as of 2011, the WIDPSC, with one student competing representing Australia, and recording 8th place.

Sport St Kevin's College is a member of the Associated Public Schools of Victoria. The college's teams take part in a wide range of sports at different levels of achievement. In 2009, the College won the soccer, Australian rules football and rugby premierships – the first time this was achieved in APS history. The College was formerly a member of the Associated Catholic Colleges from 1940 to 1957.

APS Premierships St Kevin's College has won the following APS premierships:

Athletics (11) – 2006, 2007, 2008, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2017, 2018, 2019 Badminton (4) – 2003, 2004, 2009, 2010 Basketball (4) – 2001, 2007, 2011, 2018 Cricket (7) – 1989, 1991, 1992, 2001, 2013, 2015, 2025 Cross Country (8) – 2006, 2007, 2008, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2019 Diving (10) – 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020, 2022, 2023, 2024 Football (4) – 1997, 2009, 2011, 2012 Futsal (4) – 2010, 2011, 2012, 2018 Lawn Bowls (3) - 2020, 2023, 2024 Soccer (2) – 2000, 2009 Swimming & Diving* (5) – 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013 Swimming (6) – 2016, 2021, 2022, 2023, 2024, 2025 Tennis (8) – 1990, 1991, 1993, 1994, 1996, 2011, 2017, 2018

*From 1998 until 2013, swimming and diving events were tallied to be awarded as a single premiership.

Theatre and drama St Kevin's has a theatre department and each year produces a number of plays, musicals and operas. A relationship between several different girls' schools has been established to enhance the co-curricular dramatic arts program.

Aviation St Kevin's College offers an aviation program to its students. The program has been commended by aviators and industry experts, including Nancy Bird Walton.

Coat of arms, crest and motto The current school crest was adopted by Kearney in 1933. The crest bears:

The Celtic Cross, signifying Irish heritage, in the top left quadrant A single star, representing the Star of Knowledge, in the top right quadrant The Southern Cross, representing Australia, in the bottom left quadrant