St Augustine's College, Sydney is an independent Roman Catholic single-sex primary and secondary day school for boys, located in , on the Northern Beaches of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. The school caters from approximately 1,200 boys in Year 5 to Year 12 with an education ethos of Augustinian. It was founded by the Priests of the Order of St. Augustine and is situated directly opposite Brookvale Oval.

From its founding until 2003, the college was known as St Augustine's College, Brookvale. When the college began its International Student Program by encouraging enrolments of students from other countries, the name was changed to St Augustine's College, Sydney.

The school is a member of the Independent Sporting Association (ISA), a collection of independent schools grouped primarily for the purpose of sporting competition. Its brother school is Villanova College, located in Brisbane, Queensland also instituted by the Augustinians.

History The college was founded in 1956 as an all-boys school by Fr. Thomas Alphonsus Hunt, OSA, the Provincial superior of the Province of Australasia of the Order of Saint Augustine, at the request of the then Archbishop of Sydney Norman Cardinal Gilroy. The Augustinians wanted a Parish in Sydney. Cardinal Gilroy offered the Augustinians the Parish of Manly Vale on the condition that they start and run a school for boys within three years of them taking tenure of their Parish. The site of the disused tram terminus in Alfred Road Brookvale was identified and proceedings for its purchase were begun. The land consisted of two lots, A and B in DP - with the easternmost one being purchased by the Sydney Archdiocese and the westernmost one by the Augustinians. Over time, more land surrounding the school has been purchased but ownership of the Eastern lot has remained with the Diocese — now the Diocese of Broken Bay.

In accordance with Augustinian tradition, the Priest who was the head of the school was called "Rector". The first Rector of St Augustine's College's was David John Brimson, OSA who served from 1956 to 1964. The title "Principal" is now used for the lay headmasters.

From its founding, like many Australian Catholic schools of its time, a significant proportion of its staff were professed religious – in this case Augustinian friars or priests – until the order withdrew professed teaching staff when the then Rector Dave Austin retired in 1993 and was succeeded by the first lay Principal – John J. O'Brien. The school then moved to a fully lay Catholic (cf. laity) staff in co-operation with the Augustinian order and ethos.

The College originally operated under the auspices of a College Council and since it was Incorporated in 2004, is operated by a Board of Directors.

The school teaches the curriculum of the NSW Education Standards Authority as well as traditional Catholic values and the Catholic and Augustinian approach to ethics and moral life.

2006 was the 50th year "Golden Jubilee" of the school's operation. All students of the school in 2006 were given a "Jubilee Medallion" to commemorate this occasion.St. Augustine's College Website – Tolle Lege (School Newsletter) – Volume 1 (retrieved 15 September 2006) Also, the official school Jubilee tie (to be worn only throughout 2006) was created to celebrate this anniversary. The 50 Year Jubilee Tie is gold with green and red stripes as opposed to the older tie, which was green with gold and red stripes. There was also the creation of a new occasional school emblem/logo (only to be used during the Jubilee year of 2006) which displays this celebration.

In 2016, the college celebrated its 60th anniversary.St. Augustine's College, Sydney – School Diary, 2006 – Jubilee Celebrations letter by Principal Tim Cleary On 25 February, over 1200 students, Old Boys, and past and present staff attended the 60th Anniversary Commemorative Mass at St Mary's Cathedral, Sydney. The principal celebrant of this Mass was Peter A Comensoli, Bishop of Broken Bay, assisted by Old Boy of the college, (Class of 1967) Christopher Saunders, Bishop of Broome as well as Dave Austin OSA, Prior Provincial, and several other Augustinians. Students were presented with a new 60 Years tie and lapel pin to wear at the Mass and for the rest of the year. The original Augustinian logo/crest was incorporated into the design of the tie.

Patron

The Patron of the college the 4th century saint, Augustine of Hippo, and its motto "Vincit Veritas" (Truth Conquers) is taken from his writings.Augustine of Hippo Sermons 358,1 "Nothing conquers except truth and the victory of truth is love" (Victoria veritatis est caritas)

Demographics

The school is located in the Northern Beaches Council area. Most students are Roman Catholic.

Over recent years, the college has offered the opportunity for international students (usually from Asian countries such as China) to study at the school - usually with the hope of progressing on to an Australian University and then returning to their homeland, being educated in both Australian and Augustinian culture. The fees are often significantly higher for a student coming from overseas compared to a local student because the Australian Government does not subsidise their tuition fees.Augustine's College Website - Information For International Students(retrieved 8 September 2006) The college usually accepts entrants from overseas in Years 10–12, so that an appropriate ratio of local to overseas students is maintained.

Sport Since the foundation of the school, sport has been an important part of the college curriculum as a means of promoting teamwork, sportsmanship and fair play. Five Olympians have graduated from the school, and The college has also produced numerous State and National representatives in rugby union, rugby league, football (soccer), basketball, swimming, athletics, cricket, AFL, water polo and rowing.

Rugby

At the time of the college's opening in 1956, Rugby Union was chosen as the Winter sport. It was played between the Colour "Houses" on Thursday afternoons – Sports Day. The various locations for these Colour Comp games were Brookvale Oval; Griffiths Park, Collaroy; Millers Reserve and David Thomas Reserve, Manly Vale; Manly District Park – now known as Nolans – and Kierle Park, Queenscliff.

Another reason for choosing Rugby was that the Brisbane Augustinian School, Villanova College played Rugby and St Augustine's was later to institute annual games against Villanova – the first of which took place at Kierle Park in 1962.

It has also been said that the Augustinians aspired to become a GPS school and GPS Schools played Rugby.

St Augustine's was also to help establish and later join the ISA – Independent Sporting Association and this group of schools also played Rugby.

2008 saw the selection of the first St Augustine's first Australian Schoolboys Representative. The list of reps since then is as follows:

2008 Kotoni Ale 2008 Salesi Manu 2010 Malietoa Hingano, Rhys Dombkins, Samuel Brisby, John Mokofisi 2012 Matt Philip 2015 Will McRae 2017 Albert Hopoate 2018 Daniel Ala 2019 Max Douglass, Langi Gleeson

Several boys have also represented as NSW Schoolboys including in addition to those Australian Reps above – Tevita Haliafonua, Salesi Ma’afu and Mitchell Greenway. St Augustine's has, since 2008, won the prestigious state-wide Waratah Shield in nine of the last ten years under the tutelage of Head Coach John Papahatzis and Assistant Coach Mark Downey.

Basketball Team Achievements

Championship Men (Open) Australian Schools Championships Champions: 2014

Pastoral Houses When the college opened in 1956, the boys were allotted to one of three Colour groups named after the college colours of Red, Green or Gold. To make competition easier, a fourth group - Blue - was added. Later these Colour groups became known as Houses each being named after an Augustinian Bishop.

Murray (red), named after James Murray osa. Former Bishop of Cooktown, 1898–1914. Goold (blue), named after James Alipius Goold osa. First Bishop and Archbishop of Melbourne, 1848–1886 Crane (green), named after Martin Crane osa. First Bishop of Sandhurst, 1874–1901. Reville (gold), named after Stephen Reville osa. Second Bishop of Sandhurst, 1901–1916. Hutchinson (purple), named after John Hutchinson osa. Former Bishop of Cooktown, Far North Queensland 1884–1897 Heavey (light blue), named after John Heavey osa. First Bishop of Cairns, Far North Queensland. 1914–1948

The boys now compete against each other annually to win the Bishop's Shield. The yearly sporting events include an athletics carnival, a swimming carnival, and the Easter Road Race, a race relay run at Brookvale Oval where each house has a representative. The Easter Road Race was initially run on the roads around the college and in the college grounds, but over time, this became too dangerous and so the course was transferred to Brookvale Oval.

Co-curricular Co-curricular sports and clubs at St Augustine's each are designated points depending on the time required to participate. a certain number of points are required of students at the college every year. The most popular choice among current students is to take part in two medium-high point score sports (usually one sport in Summer and one in Winter). Music, art, design, drama, chess and debating as well as Tae Kwon Do, ceramics, public speaking and tennis are also popular student choices.

The Red Land Club named from Australia's "red centre", and uniquely Australian and Indigenous in its focus, the Red Land Club was another early co-curricular organisation at St. Augustine's.College Yearbook 1976 pp 40 This was a student group founded and run from the 1970s by Rod Cameron OSA during his long teaching tenure at St Augustine's College, (1964–1984). Cameron had a long-established extensive personal relationship with Indigenous Elders throughout Australia. The Red Land Club specifically fostered a sense of connection and understanding with Indigenous Australians. It did this through poetry, drama, music, performance, meetings, seminars, regular Aboriginal elder guest speakers such as Mum (Shirl) Smith, as well as travel into indigenous communities and Dreaming sites through Australia.

Music A choral tradition was established at the Brookvale college from the 1950s.St Augustine's College Year book 1976 pp 34 & 35

Instrumental and secular music

Band and Instrumental music were fostered through the music department's many peripatetic teachers, including players and principals from the internationally acclaimed Sydney Symphony such as Walter Suttcliffe (Double Bass) and Edwin Lorentzen (French Horn, band). The full-time music staff included Ronald Bopf O.S.A. (Recorders and classroom music, on staff 1957–1972), Paul Whelan O.S.A. (flute and piccolo, on staff 1962–1966, 1968–1979), Lynne Leak, Gareth Jude (band) and Graham Press (band). Under Ann Sutcliffe, the college taught Early Music through its madrigal group, and its brace of recorders in the recorder group. It also played and sang in Benjamin Britten's Noye's Fludde together with St Andrew's Cathedral School in St Andrew's Anglican Cathedral in 1977. In conjunction with the drama department, the school also produced musicals such as Gilbert and Sullivan operettas including Trial by Jury in 1978 collaboration with Monte Sant' Angelo and Stella Maris Girls College at Manly.

Drama