Scotch College is a private, Presbyterian day and boarding school for boys, located in Hawthorn, an inner-eastern suburb of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia.

The college was established in 1851 as The Melbourne Academy in a house in Spring Street, Melbourne, by the Free Presbyterian Church of Victoria at the urging of James Forbes. It is the oldest extant secondary school in Victoria and is celebrating its 175th birthday in 2026.

Scotch is a founding member of the Associated Public Schools of Victoria (APS), and is affiliated with the International Boys' Schools Coalition (IBSC), the Junior School Heads Association of Australia (JSHAA), the Australian Boarding Schools' Association (ABSA), the Association of Independent Schools of Victoria (AISV), and the Headmasters' and Headmistresses' Conference. The School is a member of the Global Alliance of Leading-Edge Schools.

An investigation by The Age and The Sydney Morning Herald in 2021 found that Scotch is one of Australia's richest schools, and had the largest financial investment portfolio of any Australian school (valued at the time at more than $144 million).

History

Scotch College is the oldest surviving secondary school in Victoria. Its foundation was due to the initiative of James Forbes, of the Free Presbyterian Church, who had arrived in 1838 as the first settled Christian minister in what became the colony of Victoria in 1851. It is "the outcome of the old Scottish ideal of education", in which church and school were inextricably connected.

The school opened on 6 October 1851, mere weeks after the passing of James Forbes under the name of the Melbourne Academy in a small house in Spring Street, with Robert Lawson, a Scot from Edinburgh University, as the first principal. The house was soon outgrown, as was a larger one on the northwest corner of Spring and Little Collins Streets (later the Ulster Family Hotel) and the Church applied to the government for a grant of land. Two acres were reserved for the school on Eastern Hill and substantial new buildings were erected there in 1853. The cost was met partly by a government grant and partly from funds raised by the friends of the school.

Lawson resigned in 1856. Under his successor, Alexander Morrison, the school grew; it came under the oversight of the newly formed Presbyterian Church of Victoria in 1859. Morrison had been Rector of St John's Grammar School, Hamilton, LanarkshireAust Dictionary of Biography and remained at Scotch for 46 years, during almost all of which time his brother Robert was a master of the college. William Still Littlejohn, who took over the school in 1904, served for 29 years, and his successor, Colin Gilray, for 19.

Gilray was succeeded in 1953 by R. Selby Smith. Smith resigned in 1964 to become the Foundation Dean of Education at Monash University.

C. O. Healey, who had been Headmaster of Sydney Grammar School since 1951, succeeded Smith. Healey retired in January 1975.

In May 1975 P. A. V. Roff, formerly Headmaster of Scotch College, Adelaide, was installed as the seventh principal of the college. Roff's tenure, though a brief seven years, was characterised by an expanding voice for staff in the day-to-day management of the school, the establishment of a Foundation Office at the School and the widening of the house system. His last few years saw the school in dispute over ownership of the school which, for the principal and the school community, was a time of stress. In 1980 the decision was made to incorporate the school and a new council was appointed, with representatives from the Presbyterian Church of Victoria, the Old Scotch Collegians' Association and the community.

F. G. Donaldson, a vice principal from Wallace High School (Northern Ireland), with a PhD in atomic physics from Queen's University Belfast, succeeded Roff in 1983. Under his principalship there was a building program, the development of ICT for administrative and educational purposes, and enhanced pastoral care of students.

I. Tom Batty was appointed as the ninth principal of Scotch and installed into office on 14 July 2008.

It was reported in 2015 that the school had acknowledged claims of historical abuse, offering compensation and apologising to former students.

An announcement of Matthew Leeds as the tenth principal was made in November 2021 but he was terminated in January 2022 before starting in the role, following a complaint alleging misconduct in 2017.

S. H. Marsh was appointed as the tenth principal of Scotch, commencing his term in January 2023, and is the current principal of Scotch.

Name

The School was originally called "The Melbourne Academy", after its location, when it opened in 1851. In its early years it was also known as Mr Lawson's Academy – named after the first principal, Robert Lawson The Grammar School The Scots' College – the college of the Scots The Scotch College – the college that is Scottish For a while all of these names were used concurrently until in the 1860s the usage settled on "The Scotch College", which was later shortened to be simply "Scotch College".James Mitchell, A Deepening Roar - Scotch College, Melbourne, 1851-2001, Allen & Unwin, 2001, page 6

Buildings Scotch College contains more than 30 named buildings and facilities, including Memorial Hall, James Forbes Center, Lithgow Center and the Randall Building. The earliest building on Scotch College was part of the original campus when the school moved there in 1916. The Memorial Hall was one of the earliest major buildings, with its foundation stone laid by Sir John Monash in 1920. During World War II in 1942, the Glen House, an 1875 castle-style mansion in Scotch College was intentionally demolished as authorities believed that the distinctive three-storey tower and high flagpole would make it a visual landmark and target for Japanese bombers.

Coat-of-arms and motto

The School's coat-of-arms (shown above, right) features the following elements:James Mitchell, A Deepening Roar - Scotch College, Melbourne, 1851-2001, Allen & Unwin, 2001, pages 135-137 The Burning Bush – the Burning Bush, from the Book of Exodus, is a common symbol used by the Presbyterian Church, representing Christian faith. A white saltire on a blue background – the flag of Scotland (St Andrew's Cross) representing the School's Scottish heritage. The Southern Cross – the Southern Cross constellation is a common symbol for Australia, representing the School's location and home. A crown – representing loyalty to the sovereign and legitimate government. A lymphad or birlin – a Scottish heraldic ship with oars in use, thus rowing into the wind, and representing enterprise and perseverance. A torch – representing the torch of knowledge and learning.

The motto of the School, shown in Scottish heraldic style in a scroll above the coat-of-arms, is Latin: "Deo Patriae Litteris". Its meaning in English is "For God, For Country, For Learning".

Principals

Years servedName1851–1856Robert Lawson1857–1903Alexander Morrison1904–1933William Still Littlejohn1934–1953Colin Macdonald Gilray OBE MC1953–1964Richard Selby Smith OBE1965–1974Colin Oswald Healey OBE TD1975–1981Philip Anthony Vere Roff1983–2007Francis Gordon Donaldson AM2008–2022Ian Thomas Batty2023–presentScott Hugh Marsh

Governance and denominational affiliation

Scotch is an incorporated body governed by a Council of seventeen members – who are directors – made up of three groups; five Presbyterian Church of Victoria nominees (Group A), five persons (usually Old Boys) nominated by the Old Scotch Collegians' Association (Group B), and seven persons nominated by the council from the community at large (Group C), usually with some connection with the School and the Christian church. All appointments are made annually by the Presbyterian Church from the first of November every year.

Chairmen of the Council have included Sir Arthur Robinson, Sir Archibald Glenn, Sir James Balderstone, Michael Robinson AO, David Crawford AO and David A. Kemp AC.

In 1977, most congregations of the Australian Presbyterian Church left the church and joined with the Methodist and Congregationalist churches in Australia to form the Uniting Church in Australia. The Presbyterian Church of Australia continued with the remaining congregations. In the split, Scotch College, Melbourne was allocated to the Presbyterian Church of Australia by the Handley Commission which was appointed to distribute the assets of the churches, which included an even number of representatives from the Uniting Church and the continuing Presbyterian Church as well as independent commissioners. At the time the Scotch Council unsuccessfully appealed this decision.

Campuses

Hawthorn: The school has a single boarding, sporting and academic campus of in suburban Hawthorn. Sporting facilities include ovals and soccer/rugby fields, two synthetic grass hockey/soccer fields, tennis courts, an indoor swimming pool, an indoor diving pool, three gymnasiums, two weights rooms and three squash courts. The school is situated on the banks of the Yarra River and has rowing and boating facilities located within its grounds. Healesville: The school has of forest with a lodge in the hills at Healesville east of Melbourne, used for Class Retreats, as well as Scout and Cadet camps. Phillip Island: The school has an absolute-beach-front residential seaside property at Cowes on Phillip Island, which is the site of a one-week orientation camp for Year 7 students and other camps.

Boarding

Scotch has been a boarding school since its foundation.James Mitchell, A Deepening Roar - Scotch College, Melbourne, 1851-2001, Allen & Unwin, 2001, page 3 Today the School caters for 165 boarders of whom around 70% are drawn from around Australia and 30% are from overseas. The boarding precinct is on "The Hill" which overlooks the Senior School at the main Hawthorn campus. There are three boarding houses: School House, McMeckan House and Arthur Robinson House. Both School House and McMeckan House were built as the gift of Anthony Mackie, and his brother and sisters, in memory of their uncle Captain James McMeckan.James Mitchell, A Deepening Roar - Scotch College, Melbourne, 1851-2001, Allen & Unwin, 2001, page 125 Arthur Robinson House is named after a Chairman of the School Council, Sir Arthur Robinson.James Mitchell, A Deepening Roar - Scotch College, Melbourne, 1851-2001, Allen & Unwin, 2001, page 120

Curriculum Scotch students study towards the Victorian Certificate of Education (VCE), which is the main secondary student assessment program in Victoria which ranks students with an Australian Tertiary Admission Rank (ATAR) for university entrance purposes.

In 2024, Scotch College produced 10 duces who received a perfect ATAR of 99.95. +Scotch College VCE results 2012-2025YearRankMedian study scoreScores of 40+ (%)Cohort size2012233626.94402013223627.04592014143626.64512015323522.34432016283523.94532017163626.84392018313521.64502019243527.24272020263523.44322021323420.94592022253523.24392023413418.44402024343422.64372025463419.0450

Extra-curricular activities

Some extra-curricular groups and activities at Scotch are: Army Cadet Corps: The Scotch College Cadet Corps was established in 1884, and holds an annual Tattoo. Cadets have weekly activities at the school and participate in camps and bivouacs. Pipe Band: The Scotch College Pipes and Drums Band was established in 1946 and is one of the oldest school pipe bands in Australia. It wears the Gordon tartan, and competes at national and international competitions and highland festivals. It performs at school and public events including in the annual ANZAC Day March to the Shrine of Remembrance. It is the current national champion in the Juvenile grade. The pipe band performed on stage with Sir Paul McCartney on 5 and 6 December 2017, during his One on One tour. Sir Paul famously autographed the vellum of the bass drum on stage.