{{Infobox school , name = Vaucluse College FCJ , image = Vauclusecrest.gif , motto = {{langx, la, Ad Altiora
(To Higher Things) , established = 1882 , type =

Independent Independent or Independents may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Artist groups * Independents (artist group), a group of modernist painters based in Pennsylvania, United States * Independentes (English: Independents), a Portuguese artist ...

, single-sex and

day A day is the time rotation period, period of a full Earth's rotation, rotation of the Earth with respect to the Sun. On average, this is 24 hours (86,400 seconds). As a day passes at a given location it experiences morning, afternoon, evening, ...

, denomination =

Roman Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics worldwide as of 2025. It is among the world's oldest and largest international institut ...

, FCJ Sisters , slogan = , principal = , city =

Richmond Richmond most often refers to: * Richmond, British Columbia, a city in Canada * Richmond, California, a city in the United States * Richmond, London, a town in the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames, England * Richmond, North Yorkshire, a town ...

, state =

Victoria Victoria most commonly refers to: * Queen Victoria (1819–1901), Queen of the United Kingdom and Empress of India * Victoria (state), a state of Australia * Victoria, British Columbia, Canada, a provincial capital * Victoria, Seychelles, the capi ...

, country = Australia , coordinates = {{coord, 37, 49, 15, S, 144, 59, 52, E, display=inline,title , enrolment = , staff = , colours = Bottle green, navy blue and white
{{color box, #006600 {{color box, #000080 {{color box, #FFFFFF , homepage
Vaucluse Past Students Association
Vaucluse College FCJ was founded in 1882 by the

Faithful Companions of Jesus The Faithful Companions of Jesus Sisters (FCJ Sisters, French: ''Fidèles compagnes de Jésus'') is a Christian religious institute of the Roman Catholic Church directly subject to the Pope. It was founded in Amiens in France in 1820 by Marie M ...

. The school was originally known as Mount St Joseph College and later was changed to Vaucluse College FCJ. The main buildings of the college including the convent were designed by the architect GW Vanheems and constructed in stages between 1897-1904 to supplement the 'Eurolie' building already on site. These buildings, including the small gatehouse are listed as being of historical significance to the Richmond Hill area by the Heritage Council of Victoria. At various times, the college consisted of a junior school (age 5-11), a senior school which offered

matriculation Matriculation is the formal process of entering a university, or of becoming eligible to enter by fulfilling certain academic requirements such as a matriculation examination. Australia In Australia, the term ''matriculation'' is seldom used no ...

and accommodation for boarders. The school officially closed on December 8, 2000 due to changing demographics in the inner-city Melbourne region. The Vaucluse site is currently used as the Waterford campus for St Kevin's College.

House system

The students of Vaucluse College were divided into four

houses A house is a single-unit residential building. It may range in complexity from a rudimentary hut to a complex structure of wood, masonry, concrete or other material, outfitted with plumbing, electrical, and heating, ventilation, and air condi ...

that competed against each other in three areas:

Athletics Athletics may refer to: Sports * Sport of athletics, a collection of sporting events that involve competitive running, jumping, throwing, and walking ** Track and field, a sub-category of the above sport * Athletics (physical culture), competitio ...

Swimming Swimming is the self-propulsion of a person through water, such as saltwater or freshwater environments, usually for recreation, sport, exercise, or survival. Swimmers achieve locomotion by coordinating limb and body movements to achieve hydrody ...

and

Performing Arts The performing arts are arts such as music, dance, and drama which are performed for an audience. They are different from the visual arts, which involve the use of paint, canvas or various materials to create physical or static art objects. P ...

. These houses were named: * Byrne (Yellow) * Daly (Red) * D'Houet (Blue): in honour of

Marie-Madeleine d'Houët Marie-Madeleine d'Houët (1781–1858) also known as Viscountess de Bonnault d'Houët,Life of the Viscountess de Bonnault d'Houet: foundress of the Society of Faithful Companions of Jesus, Fr Stanislaus, F.M. Capuchin, Longmans, Green & Co., 2n ...

, Foundress of FCJ Sisters * Lardner (Green)

Curriculum

Vaucluse College provided secondary education for girls between Years 7-12 including VCE (Victorian Certificate of Education). The teaching was primarily performed by a mixed sex staff supplemented by a small number of Sisters from the FCJ convent on campus. Students at the college benefited from a very broad curriculum that covered five main fields of study: Science, Arts, Humanities, Business and Sport. Within these streams the following subjects were taught at a senior level: * Science:

Biology Biology is the scientific study of life and living organisms. It is a broad natural science that encompasses a wide range of fields and unifying principles that explain the structure, function, growth, History of life, origin, evolution, and ...

Physics Physics is the scientific study of matter, its Elementary particle, fundamental constituents, its motion and behavior through space and time, and the related entities of energy and force. "Physical science is that department of knowledge whi ...

Chemistry Chemistry is the scientific study of the properties and behavior of matter. It is a physical science within the natural sciences that studies the chemical elements that make up matter and chemical compound, compounds made of atoms, molecules a ...

and

Mathematics Mathematics is a field of study that discovers and organizes methods, Mathematical theory, theories and theorems that are developed and Mathematical proof, proved for the needs of empirical sciences and mathematics itself. There are many ar ...

(including both specialist and non-specialist subjects). * Arts:

Drama Drama is the specific Mode (literature), mode of fiction Mimesis, represented in performance: a Play (theatre), play, opera, mime, ballet, etc., performed in a theatre, or on Radio drama, radio or television.Elam (1980, 98). Considered as a g ...

Music Music is the arrangement of sound to create some combination of Musical form, form, harmony, melody, rhythm, or otherwise Musical expression, expressive content. Music is generally agreed to be a cultural universal that is present in all hum ...

Art Art is a diverse range of cultural activity centered around ''works'' utilizing creative or imaginative talents, which are expected to evoke a worthwhile experience, generally through an expression of emotional power, conceptual ideas, tec ...

(including

Textiles Textile is an Hyponymy and hypernymy, umbrella term that includes various Fiber, fiber-based materials, including fibers, yarns, Staple (textiles)#Filament fiber, filaments, Thread (yarn), threads, and different types of #Fabric, fabric. ...

and

Ceramics A ceramic is any of the various hard, brittle, heat-resistant, and corrosion-resistant materials made by shaping and then firing an inorganic, nonmetallic material, such as clay, at a high temperature. Common examples are earthenware, porce ...

). * Humanities: English,

English Literature English literature is literature written in the English language from the English-speaking world. The English language has developed over more than 1,400 years. The earliest forms of English, a set of Anglo-Frisian languages, Anglo-Frisian d ...

, Social Studies, Religious Education,

French French may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France ** French people, a nation and ethnic group ** French cuisine, cooking traditions and practices Arts and media * The French (band), ...

and

Italian Italian(s) may refer to: * Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries ** Italians, a Romance ethnic group related to or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom ** Italian language, a Romance languag ...

. * Business:

Economics Economics () is a behavioral science that studies the Production (economics), production, distribution (economics), distribution, and Consumption (economics), consumption of goods and services. Economics focuses on the behaviour and interac ...

Legal Studies Jurisprudence, also known as theory of law or philosophy of law, is the examination in a general perspective of what law is and what it ought to be. It investigates issues such as the definition of law; legal validity; legal norms and values ...

Accounting Accounting, also known as accountancy, is the process of recording and processing information about economic entity, economic entities, such as businesses and corporations. Accounting measures the results of an organization's economic activit ...

and

Computing Computing is any goal-oriented activity requiring, benefiting from, or creating computer, computing machinery. It includes the study and experimentation of algorithmic processes, and the development of both computer hardware, hardware and softw ...

. * Sport: Physical Education and Health.

Co-curriculum

Students of Vaucluse were also able to participate in a range of additional activities including three choirs (Vaucluse College

Choir A choir ( ), also known as a chorale or chorus (from Latin ''chorus'', meaning 'a dance in a circle') is a musical ensemble of singers. Choral music, in turn, is the music written specifically for such an ensemble to perform or in other words ...

, Senior College Choir &

Madrigal A madrigal is a form of secular vocal music most typical of the Renaissance (15th–16th centuries) and early Baroque (1580–1650) periods, although revisited by some later European composers. The polyphonic madrigal is unaccompanied, and the ...

Group), Vaucluse Debating Team, Wind Orchestra,

Tennis Tennis is a List of racket sports, racket sport that is played either individually against a single opponent (singles (tennis), singles) or between two teams of two players each (doubles (tennis), doubles). Each player uses a tennis racket st ...

and

Taekwondo Taekwondo (; ; ) is a Korean martial art and combat sport involving primarily kicking techniques and punching. "Taekwondo" can be translated as ''tae'' ("strike with foot"), ''kwon'' ("strike with hand"), and ''do'' ("the art or way"). In ad ...

. Many of these groups competed successfully at inter-school competitions against other Victorian secondary schools.

Associated schools

Seven years after the founding of the original college and convent in Richmond, in 1889

Genazzano FCJ College Genazzano FCJ College is a Catholic, day and boarding school for girls, located in Kew, an eastern suburb of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. Established in 1889 by the Faithful Companions of Jesus (FCJ Sisters), the college has a non-selective ...

was established as a

sister school A sister school is usually a pair of schools, usually single-sex school, one with female students and the other with male students. This relationship is seen to benefit both schools. For instance, when Harvard University was a male-only school, Ra ...

in nearby Kew to accommodate boarding students from country areas.

External links

Vaucluse Past Students AssociationVictorian Heritage Database – Vaucluse College FCJFCJ Sisters – Australian website
Educational institutions established in 1882 Educational institutions disestablished in 2000 Defunct Catholic schools in Australia 1882 establishments in Australia