Chisholm Catholic College is a private Roman Catholic

high school A secondary school, high school, or senior school, is an institution that provides secondary education. Some secondary schools provide both ''lower secondary education'' (ages 11 to 14) and ''upper secondary education'' (ages 14 to 18), i.e., ...

situated approximately northeast of the Central Business District of

Perth Perth () is the list of Australian capital cities, capital city of Western Australia. It is the list of cities in Australia by population, fourth-most-populous city in Australia, with a population of over 2.3 million within Greater Perth . The ...

, Western Australia in the suburb of

Bedford Bedford is a market town in Bedfordshire, England. At the 2011 Census, the population was 106,940. Bedford is the county town of Bedfordshire and seat of the Borough of Bedford local government district. Bedford was founded at a ford (crossin ...

. The College provides education for approximately 2,021 students. Chisholm Catholic College was established in 1989 as a result of the amalgamation of St Mark's College, Bedford, conducted by the Christian Brothers, and St Thomas Aquinas College, Inglewood, conducted by the Dominican Sisters. From 1989 to 2002, the College had two campuses. The senior students were taught at the original St Thomas Aquinas College site in Wood Street and the junior students were taught at the St Mark's college site in Beaufort Street. In 2003 the College merged onto one site at Beaufort Street The College is owned by the Catholic

Archdiocese In church governance, a diocese or bishopric is the ecclesiastical district under the jurisdiction of a bishop. History In the later organization of the Roman Empire, the increasingly subdivided provinces were administratively associated ...

in the person of the

Archbishop In Christian denominations, an archbishop is a bishop of higher rank or office. In most cases, such as the Catholic Church, there are many archbishops who either have jurisdiction over an ecclesiastical province in addition to their own archdi ...

of Perth. With the other Western Australian Bishops, he has authorised the Catholic Education Commission to determine major policy and to appoint a College Board responsible for the financial administration. The Principal, also appointed by the Archbishop, is accountable to the Director of Catholic Education for the educational administration of the College.

Background

Catholic secondary education in the Bedford Park region of

began in 1936 when the Irish Christian Brothers opened a school for boys in Highgate. In 1941, the Dominican Sisters opened a school for girls in Bedford (St. Peters Primary School Bedford). In 1959, the Christian Brothers opened another school for boys in Bedford (C.B.H.S. Bedford). The three schools flourished for many years, until the declining numbers of Brothers and Sisters and economic pressures moved the two Religious Orders and the Catholic Education Commission of Western Australia to establish a single co-educational school. Chisholm Catholic College opened in February, 1989, with the motto, "Grow in Christ", and 1287 secondary students. The Christian Brothers' Highgate site was sold, the Dominican Sisters' Bedford site became the Years 11, 12 campus and the Christian Brothers' Bedford site became the Years 8−10 campus. In the years that have elapsed, the College facilities have been upgraded and extended. At the same time, the College has graduated over 6,000 students who are now working in all walks of life. In 2003 after an extensive building programme; the two campuses merged onto the Beaufort Street site. During this time the College had developed and is now established as an institution for secondary education for young adolescents. Students graduating from the College continue their education in tertiary institutions or within the workforce domestically, nationally and internationally. In 2009, the college expanded further, with the inclusion of Year 7's on the campus. New classrooms have been built, as well as a new hospitality wing built in late 2008 and opened in 2009. More recently the College has renovated D-Block which was one of the oldest buildings in the campus, Demolished and rebuilt long standing C Block (now known as the Patricia Rodrigues E-Learning Centre), and also expanding the F-Block, to cater for three new Art Rooms.

Caroline Chisholm

The college is named after 19th-century English

humanitarian Humanitarianism is an ideology centered on the value of human life, whereby humans practice benevolent treatment and provide assistance to other humans to reduce suffering and improve the conditions of humanity for moral, altruistic, and emotiona ...

Caroline Chisholm Caroline Chisholm ( ; born Caroline Jones; 30 May 1808 – 25 March 1877) was an English humanitarian known mostly for her support of immigrant female and family welfare in Australia. She is commemorated on 16 May in the Calendar of saints (Ch ...

. Chisholm was known for her charity work with the homeless women on the streets of

Sydney Sydney is the capital city of the States and territories of Australia, state of New South Wales and the List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city in Australia. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Syd ...

and founded homes for over 11,000 people and built a shelter for young homeless girls. She converted from

Anglicanism Anglicanism, also known as Episcopalianism in some countries, is a Western Christianity, Western Christian tradition which developed from the practices, liturgy, and identity of the Church of England following the English Reformation, in the ...

Catholicism The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...

after marrying Captain Archibald Chisholm.

Alumni

Dave Callan David Gerard Callan (born ) is an Irish-born stand-up comedian, who has had a career in television and radio, and is based in Melbourne, Victoria, Melbourne, Australia. Up until 2010 he worked as a Triple J disc jockey. Early life and educat ...

—

Dundalk Dundalk ( ; ) is the county town of County Louth, Ireland. The town is situated on the Castletown River, which flows into Dundalk Bay on the north-east coast of Ireland, and is halfway between Dublin and Belfast, close to and south of the bor ...

-born Australian comedian, radio announcer and disk jockey * Alana Nicholls — Australian kayaker *

Nick O'Hern Nicholas Simon O'Hern (born 18 October 1971) is an Australian professional golfer. O'Hern has played on both of the world's premier professional golf tours, the European Tour, and the United States–based PGA Tour. His biggest successes thoug ...

— Australian professional golfer * Enrico Palermo — Australian mechanical engineer, businessman; head of the Australian Space Agency

References

External links

*{{official website Catholic secondary schools in Perth, Western Australia Educational institutions established in 1989 1989 establishments in Australia