Wesley College is a

co-educational Mixed-sex education, also known as mixed-gender education, co-education, or coeducation (abbreviated to co-ed or coed), is a system of education where males and females are educated together. Whereas single-sex education was more common up to ...

, open-entry

private school A private school or independent school is a school not administered or funded by the government, unlike a State school, public school. Private schools are schools that are not dependent upon national or local government to finance their fina ...

Melbourne Melbourne ( , ; Boonwurrung language, Boonwurrung/ or ) is the List of Australian capital cities, capital and List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city of the States and territories of Australia, Australian state of Victori ...

, Australia. Established in 1866, the college is the only school in Victoria to offer the

International Baccalaureate The International Baccalaureate Organization (IBO), more commonly known as the International Baccalaureate (IB), is a nonprofit foundation headquartered in Geneva, Switzerland, and founded in 1968. It offers four educational programmes: the I ...

(IB) from early childhood to Year 12. The college consists of three main metropolitan campuses in Melbourne,

St Kilda Road St Kilda Road is a street in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. It is part of the Melbourne central business district, locality of Melbourne which has the postcode of 3004, and along with Swanston Street forms a major spine of the city. St Kilda ...

Glen Waverley Glen Waverley is an eastern suburb of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, located southeast of the Melbourne central business district. It is the council seat of the City of Monash local government area and a prominent suburban commercial distric ...

and

Elsternwick Elsternwick is an inner suburb in Melbourne, Victoria (Australia), Victoria, Australia, 9 km south-east of Melbourne's Melbourne city centre, Central Business District, located within the City of Glen Eira local government areas of Victoria ...

, residential/boarding facilities (Glen Waverley), three outdoor education sites (Mallana, Chum Creek, & Lochend), a year 9 residential learning campus in Clunes and the Yiramalay/Wesley Studio School (Yiramalay) in the

Kimberley Region The Kimberley is the northernmost of the nine regions of Western Australia. It is bordered on the west by the Indian Ocean, on the north by the Timor Sea, on the south by the Great Sandy Desert, Great Sandy and Tanami Desert, Tanami deserts in t ...

. Wesley was the first registered school in Australia and is a founding member of the Associated Public Schools of Victoria (APS). It is affiliated with the

Independent Primary School Heads of Australia The Independent Primary School Heads of Australia (IPSHA) formerly Junior School Heads Association of Australia (JSHAA), is an Incorporation (business), incorporated body representing the heads of independent primary schools in Australia. Officia ...

, the Association of Independent Schools of Victoria, the Association of Heads of Independent Schools of Australia and the

Headmasters' and Headmistresses' Conference The Headmasters' and Headmistresses' Conference (HMC), formerly known as the Headmasters' Conference and now branded HMC (The Heads' Conference), is an association of the head teachers of 351 private fee-charging schools (both boarding schools ...

Overview

Wesley College operates in a three mini-school structure (Junior, Middle & Senior Schools), which caters for students from early childhood through to Year 12. In the Junior Schools (3 Year olds to Year 4), students from the Early Childhood Learning Centre to Year 4 are taught within the framework of the IB Primary Years Programme (PYP). In Middle School (Year 5 to Year 9), students continue to learn within the framework of the IB Primary Years Programme before transitioning into the IB Middle Years Programme (MYP) in Year 7. In the Senior Schools (Years 10 to 12), Wesley offers the

Victorian Certificate of Education The Victorian Certificate of Education (VCE) is the credential available to secondary school students who successfully complete year 10, 11 and 12 in the Australian state of Victoria (state), Victoria as well as in some international schools i ...

IB Diploma Programme The International Baccalaureate Diploma Programme (IBDP) is a two-year educational programme primarily aimed at 16-to-19-year-olds in 140 countries around the world. The programme provides an internationally accepted qualification for entry int ...

and

Vocational Education and Training Vocational education is education that prepares people for a Skilled worker, skilled craft. Vocational education can also be seen as that type of education given to an individual to prepare that individual to be gainfully employed or self em ...

. Wesley enrolment is not subject to entrance examinations or other requirements although some preference is given to female students in order to achieve gender balance. A report in 2019 cited Wesley's fees as among the highest of any school in Victoria.

Campuses

St Kilda Road

Established in 1866, the

campus has approximately 1,500 students from early childhood through to Year 12. The campus is around four kilometres from the

Melbourne city centre The Melbourne central business district (colloquially known as "the City" or "the CBD", and gazetted simply as Melbourne) is the city centre of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. As of the 2021 census, the CBD had a population of 54,941, and is ...

. The campus comprises two sites, with the Middle and Senior Schools located on

and the Junior School in close proximity to High Street and St Kilda Road.

Glen Waverley

The

campus, established in 1966, has over 1,200 students from early childhood through to Year 12. The campus is home to Wesley's boarding facility. In 2016, parts of the Middle School were burned down during a fire, which led to the construction of the new Drennen centre.

Elsternwick

The

campus, established in late 1988 (formerly Methodist Ladies' College and Cato College), has over 400 students from early childhood through to Year 9.

Clunes

The Clunes residential campus was established in 1999. Year 9 students spend eight weeks living with one another as part of a unique residential program, where they learn with and contribute to the local community. Girls and boys live separately in 15 residential houses designed by award-winning architect, Daryl Jackson AO. Each house accommodates up to eight students, with adult House Leaders supporting the overall wellbeing of students and house logistics.

Yiramalay/Wesley Studio School

Established in 2010, Yiramalay was born out of a partnership between Wesley College and the

Bunuba The ''Bunuba'' (also known as Bunaba, Punapa, Punuba) are a group of Indigenous Australians and are one of the traditional owners of the southern West Kimberley, in Western Australia. Many now live in and around the town of Fitzroy Crossing. ...

community of the

Kimberley Kimberly or Kimberley may refer to: Places and historical events Australia Queensland * Kimberley, Queensland, a coastal locality in the Shire of Douglas South Australia * County of Kimberley, a cadastral unit in South Australia Ta ...

Western Australia Western Australia (WA) is the westernmost state of Australia. It is bounded by the Indian Ocean to the north and west, the Southern Ocean to the south, the Northern Territory to the north-east, and South Australia to the south-east. Western Aust ...

Outdoor Education Sites

Wesley has three outdoor education camp sites in Victoria. Wesley's 130 hectare outdoor education camp at Chum Creek, near

Healesville Healesville is a town in Victoria, Australia, 64 km north-east from Melbourne's central business district, located within the Shire of Yarra Ranges local government area. Healesville recorded a population of 7,589 in the 2021 census. H ...

, commenced in 1952, coinciding with the establishment of Timbertop by

Geelong Grammar School Geelong Grammar School is a private Anglican co-educational boarding and day school. The school's main campus is located in Corio on the northern outskirts of Geelong, Victoria, Australia, overlooking Corio Bay and Limeburners Bay. Establ ...

. The original site was donated in 1952 by Alfred Wall, a parent whose family still owns land adjacent to the camp. One of the buildings was commemorated with a sign dedicated to Alfred Wall which has since fallen off and not been returned to its location. The remaining was purchased in late 1999. Camp Mallana is located on on the

Banksia Peninsula Banksia Peninsula is a peninsula in Victoria. It is located at , about 15 kilometres (9 mi) south of Bairnsdale on the northern side of the Gippsland Lakes. A long, narrow, sandy peninsula, it is the site of Duck Arm, a popular recreationa ...

, between

Bairnsdale Bairnsdale (locally ) (Gunai language, Ganai: ''Wy-yung'') is a city in East Gippsland, Victoria (Australia), Victoria, Australia, situated in a region traditionally inhabited by the Tatungalung clan of the Gunaikurnai people. The estimated popu ...

and Paynesville, with frontage to Lake Victoria and the Duck Arm shoreline. Camp Lochend, purchased in 1988, is located on near

Portland Portland most commonly refers to: *Portland, Oregon, the most populous city in the U.S. state of Oregon *Portland, Maine, the most populous city in the U.S. state of Maine *Isle of Portland, a tied island in the English Channel Portland may also r ...

Child sex abuse

In 2021, Wesley College's administration was successfully sued for failing to protect students from child sexual abuse. Lawyers accused the private school’s administration of allowing abuse to flourish and failing to protect students. A former student at Wesley College was awarded a record settlement of $3 million as compensation for institutional child abuse, after the court ruled that he was sexually assaulted by two former teachers at the school in the 1970s. The abuse was perpetrated by former staff members John McMillan, who sexually abused the boy at Wesley College leadership camps in the years between 1972 and 1974, and Stewart Heywood a former school counselor and long-time teacher, who then repeatedly abused the boy from 1976 until 1979. A number of other victims of McMillan and Heywood have come forward and accused Wesley College of putting "whatever legal obstacles they could" in order to prevent victims receiving proper compensation.

History

The beginnings of Wesley College came from a decision of the colonial government of Victoria in the wake of the

Victorian gold rush The Victorian gold rush was a period in the history of Victoria, Australia, approximately between 1851 and the late 1860s. It led to a period of extreme prosperity for the Australian colony and an influx of population growth and financial capi ...

to grant land and funds to four religious groups, including the Wesleyan Methodist Church, for the purpose of establishing colleges in Melbourne. In 1854, the government offered the Wesleyans facing

. Major benefactor Walter Powell encouraged other Wesleyan Methodists to bridge the gap in funds between the government grant and that required to build the school. Daniel Draper and others subsequently contributed sufficient funds. The foundation stone was laid at the present site of the St Kilda Road campus on 4 January 1865. Draper drowned at sea on the day of the school's official opening on 11 January 1866.Lemon, p. 28 The first student, Frederick Binks, arrived on 18 January. James Waugh was chairman of the school committee from foundation until 1883. James Corrigan was the first of seven Headmasters in Wesley's first 35 years. The school struggled for numbers over some of this period. The Depression of the 1890s provided a particular challenge when Arthur Way was Headmaster, and came to a head in 1896 under Arthur Stephenson when enrolment dropped to 90 boys and closure was threatened. Thomas Palmer's tenure as headmaster was curtailed early in 1902 after he was found to have embezzled more than £1,000 of the school's funds. The colours purple and gold were first chosen when the school was established in 1866. In 1875, they were changed to light blue and white (after

Cambridge University The University of Cambridge is a Public university, public collegiate university, collegiate research university in Cambridge, England. Founded in 1209, the University of Cambridge is the List of oldest universities in continuous operation, wo ...

and

University of Melbourne The University of Melbourne (colloquially known as Melbourne University) is a public university, public research university located in Melbourne, Australia. Founded in 1853, it is Australia's second oldest university and the oldest in the state ...

), but reverted to purple and gold in 1902.

Lawrence Adamson Lawrence Arthur Adamson, CMG, (20 April 1860 – 14 December 1932) was a schoolmaster of Wesley College, Melbourne, Australia, and is considered to be one of the greatest and most influential in the nation's educational history. Upon his reti ...

is generally regarded as the single most important figure in the school's history.Lemon, p. 121 Adamson was Headmaster from 1902 to 1932 after beginning his teaching career there in 1887. His influence on Wesley survived well into the latter part of the 20th century from staff who were either appointed or were students during his tenure. A recent history of the school defined his contribution as giving Wesley "prosperity, direction and reputation". He personally contributed thousands of pounds of his personal fortune to the school. Adamson was considered less effective in his last decade as headmaster, with the centenary history published in 1967 providing the first overt criticism of him. The St Kilda Road campus was substantially rebuilt and expanded between 1933 and 1939 following a bequest from philanthropists Alfred and George Nicholas. The gift of around £200,000 ($16 million in 2008) funded twin double-storey buildings, science laboratories, a Junior School building, swimming pool, gymnasium, chapel and other facilities. In 1942 the Australian Government requisitioned the school's campus for the Australian Army, resulting in Wesley being accommodated at Scotch College from 1942 to 1943. The college was running out of space at St Kilda Road and as early as 1937 had secured an option to purchase the land and buildings of Box Hill Grammar School (now Kingswood College). Headmaster Neil MacNeil advanced this option, opening negotiations in 1946. Commercial agreement was reached in 1947 following McNeil's death in office but was never acted on and finally abandoned in 1955. Thomas Coates (1957–1971) and David Prest (1972–1991) were long-serving headmasters during a period of substantial change, particularly during Prest's tenure. The school purchased land at Syndal in 1955, and for the next few years considered selling the St Kilda Road campus to fund building at its new location. However, by 1959 it had decided to retain its St Kilda Road location, move the Junior School and establish playing fields at Syndal. Following a period of fund-raising, the new campus (renamed

campus in 1978) opened in 1966. The school opened enrolment to girls in 1978. Boarding was discontinued in 1980, in order to accommodate more students at St Kilda Road. Wesley first approached Cato College,

in the late 1970s regarding amalgamation. Struggling financially, Cato agreed to this in 1986, with integration into Wesley completed by 1989. In November 1989, a fire substantially damaged the St Kilda Road campus. Significant archival material was lost with the virtual destruction of the school library. The damaged areas were rebuilt by 1991. Historian Andrew Lemon characterised Glen McArthur's tenure as headmaster (1992–1996) as leaving a sense of "unease". With the two larger campuses becoming more autonomous and competitive, McArthur was encouraged by the school council to engender a greater sense of a single school, but in doing so he challenged the positions of both campus heads, who left during his tenure. Ill-health affected McArthur's incumbency, and he died in 1998. David Loader became principal of Wesley in 1997 after 18 years as head of

Methodist Ladies' College, Melbourne Methodist Ladies' College (commonly referred to as MLC) is a non-selective, non-denominational private school, private Day school, day and boarding school for girls, located in Kew, Victoria, Kew, an eastern suburb of Melbourne, Victoria, Melbou ...

and brought to fruition the country-based year 9 learning campus at Clunes in 2000. Former Glen Waverley campus head Helen Drennen became Wesley College's first female principal in June 2003. In April 2016, a fire at the Glen Waverley campus destroyed ten years 5 and 6 classrooms.

Headmasters and principals

Crest and motto

The Wesley College crest, designed by Frank Goldstraw, later headmaster from 1893 to 1895, first appeared in 1877. It acknowledges the Southern Cross in the cross quarters of the shield and visualises the college's motto. The lion passant, or standing, in the first quarter symbolises courage, vigilance and readiness to act in the daring pursuit of wisdom; the books in the second and third quarters symbolise the wisdom to be gained from learning; and the lamp in the fourth quarter symbolises the light of wisdom. The Wesley College motto, ''Sapere Aude'', appeared in the first College Prospectus of 1866. The words occur in the

Epistles of Horace The ''Epistles'' (or ''Letters'') of Horace were published in two books, in 20 BC and 14 BC, respectively. *''Epistularum liber primus'' (''First Book of Letters'') is the seventh work by Horace, published in the year 20 BC. This book consists o ...

(I.ii.40): ‘Dimidium facti, qui coepit, habet. Sapere aude: Incipe’ or translated to ‘Well begun is half done. Dare to be Wise: make a beginning.

Curriculum

Wesley begins its curriculum structure with the International Baccalaureate Primary Years Program (IB PYP) for 3 y/o to Year 6. Students then commence the IB Middle Years Program (IB MYP) in Year 7 through to Year 10. In Years 11 and 12, students select from two distinct pathways – the Victorian Certificate of Education (VCE) or the IB Diploma Program (IB DP).

Student life

Sport

Wesley was one of six founding members of the Associated Public Schools (APS). Lawrence Adamson's tenure as headmaster was Wesley's most successful period in APS competition. Between 1901 and 1915, the college won multiple premierships (first team titles) – rowing (12), football (9), athletics (4) and one for cricket. Since then, notable achievements have been consecutive football premierships between 1959 and 1962, with similar success in cricket between 1933 and 1936, and five cricket titles in six years between 1949 and 1954. Success has largely eluded Wesley in boys' athletics, with only one title since 1911, while the last boys' rowing title was in 1984. In girls' sport Wesley has won seven athletics premierships in a row stretching from 2012 to 2018. Wesley has been successful in girls' sport, particularly in

netball Netball is a ball sport played on a rectangular court by two teams of seven players. The primary objective is to shoot a ball through the defender's goal ring while preventing the opposing team from shooting through their own. It is one of a ...

, softball and cross country, with over 30 premierships since 1981. Since 2000, Wesley girls have competed against schools from the

Associated Grammar Schools of Victoria The Associated Grammar Schools of Victoria (AGSV) is a sporting association of nine independent schools in Victoria, Australia, formed in 1920. The AGSV provides interschool sporting competitions between the nine member schools in a range of sp ...

in addition to APS schools. Wesley has over 120 teams competing in 19 sports from Year 5 to Year 12 level. Sport is compulsory at varying levels for students in Years 7 to 12.

APS & AGSV/APS Premierships

Wesley has won the following APS and AGSV/APS premierships. Boys: * Athletics (7) – 1906, 1907, 1910, 1911, 1944, 1945, 1947 * Basketball (4) – 1998, 1999, 2010, 2023 * Cricket (18) – 1894, 1902, 1910, 1919, 1933, 1934, 1935, 1936, 1939, 1949, 1950, 1951, 1953, 1954, 1960, 1969, 1993, 1999 * Cross Country (5) – 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2021 * Football (22) – 1899, 1900, 1901, 1903, 1904, 1906, 1907, 1908, 1909, 1911, 1914, 1915, 1918, 1922, 1932, 1959, 1960, 1961, 1962, 1972, 1979, 2010 * Hockey (4) – 1993, 1994, 2010, 2019 * Rowing (24) – 1874, 1896, 1901, 1902, 1903, 1904, 1905, 1906, 1909, 1910, 1911, 1912, 1913, 1915, 1933, 1942, 1947, 1961, 1962, 1965, 1970, 1972, 1977, 1984 * Soccer – 2001 * Tennis (2) – 1990, 2006 * Water Polo – 1999, 2010 Girls: * Athletics (10) – 1989, 1994, 2004, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018 * Badminton (7) – 2004, 2005, 2006, 2011, 2013, 2014, 2019 * Basketball (6) – 2004, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2014, 2021 * Diving (2) – 2015, 2016 * Cross Country (18) – 1993, 1994, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2021 * Hockey (3) – 1998, 2006, 2014 * Netball (9) – 2000, 2001, 2002, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2013, 2019 * Rowing (2) – 1987, 2021 * Softball (11) – 1998, 1999, 2000, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2008, 2009, 2016, 2021 * Swimming (10) – 1989, 1990, 1991, 1992, 1993, 1994, 1995, 1997, 2014, 2015 * Swimming & Diving* (2) – 2012, 2013 * Tennis (12) – 1998, 2001, 2003, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2016, 2019, 2021 * Water Polo (7) – 2005, 2006, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2015, 2016 *From 1998 until 2013, swimming and diving events were awarded as a single premiership.

Drama

The St Kilda Road, Glen Waverley and Elsternwick campuses have separate student theatre companies. The Adamson Theatre Company, named after its principal performance venue was established by Tony Conabere at St Kilda Road campus in 1988. Theatrical performances at Glen Waverley and Elsternwick campuses are both performed under the name ''Wesley Student Theatre''. Various facilities across the campuses are used as well as public venues such as

BMW Edge Federation Square (marketed and colloquially known as Fed Square) is a venue for arts, culture and public events on the edge of the Melbourne central business district. It covers an area of at the intersection of Flinders and Swanston Streets ...

Federation Square Federation Square (marketed and colloquially known as Fed Square) is a venue for arts, culture and public events on the edge of the Melbourne central business district. It covers an area of at the intersection of Flinders and Swanston Street ...

and venues within the

Arts Centre Melbourne Arts Centre Melbourne, originally known as the Victorian Arts Centre and briefly called the Arts Centre, is a performing arts centre consisting of a complex of theatres and concert halls in the Melbourne Arts Precinct, located in the central M ...

.Wesley College: Performing Arts Season 2010 Brochure The Glen Waverley campus has performed in New Zealand, Hong Kong, Thailand, Japan, Canada, America, England, Ireland, France, Italy and Germany since 1987.

Music

Glen Waverley & St Kilda Road campuses participate in the Generations in Jazz competition hosted by James Morrison with success achieved by St Kilda Rd (1st in Div 1 1999, 2002, 2004, 2007, 2010 and 2nd in 2008, 2009) and Glen Waverley (2nd in Div 2 2010, 1st in Div 3 2005, 2010). The college has a long-standing singing tradition, with the first edition of its Wesley College Song Book published in 1893. The fourteenth edition was published in 2009 and over 140 tunes with lyrics have been included in the song book throughout the school's existence. The Wesley College Song Book is traditionally presented to all new students at the commencement of each school year and in turn the Wesley College Gift Book is presented when students leave the college.

Debating

Wesley College participates in the Debaters Association of Victoria (DAV) Schools' Competition and other debating & public speaking tournaments organised by Rotary, the RSL and the United Nations Youth Association of Australia. In 2006, Wesley won the DAV's Schools British Parliamentary debating competition, competing against Scotch College,

Sydney Grammar School Sydney Grammar School (SGS, colloquially known as Grammar) is an independent, non-denominational day school for boys, located in Sydney, Australia. Incorporated in 1854 by an Act of Parliament and opened in 1857, the school claims to offer "c ...

, and

Melbourne Grammar School Melbourne Grammar School is an Australian private school, private Anglican Church of Australia, Anglican Day school, day and boarding school. It comprises a co-educational preparatory school from Prep to Year 6 and a middle school and senior s ...

Public Questions Society

The Public Questions Society (PQS) was established at Wesley College in May 1924 and was instituted to provide a forum in which contemporary and controversial issues could be discussed. In the 1970s, College Headmaster, David Prest convinced the school council to provide funds to increase the supply of controversial figures to address the college on topics of the hour.Lemon, p. 392 Subjects in 1972, for example, included 'Black Power', 'Women's Liberation' and 'Legalisation of Marijuana'. Past speakers have included:

Bob Hawke Robert James Lee Hawke (9 December 1929 – 16 May 2019) was an Australian politician and trade unionist who served as the 23rd prime minister of Australia from 1983 to 1991. He held office as the Australian Labor Party, leader of the La ...

Dick Hamer Sir Rupert James "Dick" Hamer, (29 July 1916 – 23 March 2004) was an Australian politician who served as the 39th premier of Victoria from 1972 to 1981, and prior to that, the 18th deputy premier of Victoria from 1971 to 1972. He held offic ...

Neale Fraser Neale Andrew Fraser, (3 October 1933 – 2 December 2024) was an Australian champion tennis player. Fraser is the most recent man to have completed the triple crown (i.e. having won the singles, doubles, and mixed doubles titles at a Grand S ...

Al Grassby Albert Jaime Grassby, Member of the Order of Australia, AM (12 July 1926 – 23 April 2005) was an Australians, Australian politician who served as Minister for Immigration and Citizenship (Australia), Minister for Immigration in the Australian ...

Lou Richards Lewis Thomas Charles "Lou" Richards (15 March 1923 – 8 May 2017) was an Australian rules footballer who played 250 games for the Collingwood Football Club in the Victorian Football League (VFL) between 1941 and 1955. He captained the team f ...

Keith Dunstan John Keith Dunstan (3 February 1925 – 11 September 2013), known as Keith Dunstan, was an Australian journalist and author. He was a prolific writer and the author of more than 35 books. Early life Dunstan was born in East Malvern, Victoria ...

Ivan Southall Ivan Francis Southall AM, DFC (8 June 192115 November 2008) was an Australian writer best known for young adult fiction. He wrote more than 30 children's books, six books for adults, and at least ten works of history, biography or other non-fi ...

Geoffrey Blainey Geoffrey Norman Blainey, (born 11 March 1930) is an Australian historian, academic, best selling author and commentator. Blainey is noted for his authoritative texts on the economic and social history of Australia, including ''The Tyranny of ...

, Andrew Lemon and Wade Davis.

Other

The college also offers inter-school activities such as the

Tournament of Minds Tournament of Minds (TOM) is an academic competition focusing on collaborative problem solving and critical thinking. It is open to both Primary school, primary and Secondary school, secondary students in Australia, New Zealand, South Africa an ...

competition,

Alliance française (; "French Alliance", stylised as ''af'') is an international organization that aims to promote the French language and francophone culture around the world. Created in Paris on 21 July 1883 under the name ''Alliance française pour la propa ...

competitions, the

Duke of Edinburgh Award The Duke of Edinburgh's Award (commonly abbreviated DofE) is a youth awards programme founded in the United Kingdom in 1956 by the Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, which has since expanded to 144 nations. The awards recognise adolescents and ...

and other local competitions.

Facilities

Structural

Wesley College and the

City of Port Phillip The City of Port Phillip is a Local government areas of Victoria, local government area of Victoria, Australia on the northern shores of Port Phillip, south of Melbourne's central business district. It has an area of 20.7 km2 and had a pop ...

are joint owners of the Albert Park Tennis and Hockey Centre, a facility used by a number of schools, community groups and the general public. The college's performing arts facilities include keyboard computer music laboratories, music rooms, private music lesson rooms, orchestra rooms, theatres for music, dance and drama, drama and communication studies rooms,

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 ...

studios, dance studios,

recording studios A recording studio is a specialized facility for recording and mixing of instrumental or vocal musical performances, spoken words, and other sounds. They range in size from a small in-home project studio large enough to record a single sin ...

and other recital rooms. Notable halls of Wesley College include Adamson Hall at the St Kilda Road campus (capacity 580), Cato Hall at Glen Waverley campus (600) and Fitchett Hall at Elsternwick (350). The Coates Pavilion at Glen Waverley was reopened in 2009 following redevelopment. Stage 2 of the 2016 College Sport Facilities master-plan was completed in 2011 when the construction of a new indoor sport complex with associated amenities (including: a weights and conditioning facilities, health and wellbeing centre and staff offices) at the Glen Waverley campus was completed. At the Clunes campus the internal works of the heritage-listed Wesleyan Church were completed in 2010 with new heritage walls, flooring, ceiling and lighting installed; the historic pipe organ was also refurbished and rebuilt. From 2011 to 2013 the St Kilda Road campus underwent its largest single redevelopment since the 1930s. The music school was completely rebuilt as a state-of-the-art music and drama facility and the adjacent Adamson Hall, the campus's primary dramatic theatre, was extensively refurbished with an expanded capacity of 580 seated, a fly tower, a hydraulic thrust stage, and a revamped sound and lighting rig.

Technology

Wesley was one of the first Australian schools to integrate laptop computers into its curriculumWesley College: "Wesley College Technology 2008", pp. 3–4, Wesley College, 2008. and according to its network provider in 2008, it operated Australia's largest school notebook PC program. Wesley's IT infrastructure includes over 4,000

notebook A notebook (also known as a notepad, writing pad, drawing pad, or legal pad) is a book or stack of paper pages that are often ruled and used for purposes such as note-taking, journaling or other writing, drawing, or scrapbooking and more. ...

, 1,000

desktop computers A desktop computer, often abbreviated as desktop, is a personal computer designed for regular use at a stationary location on or near a desk (as opposed to a portable computer) due to its size and power requirements. The most common configurati ...

and 850 network

printers Printer may refer to: Technology * Printer (publishing), a person * Printer (computing), a hardware device * Optical printer for motion picture films People * Nariman Printer (fl. c. 1940), Indian journalist and activist * James Printer (1 ...

. In 2005

wireless internet Wireless communication (or just wireless, when the context allows) is the transfer of information (''telecommunication'') between two or more points without the use of an electrical conductor, optical fiber or other continuous guided mediu ...

was launched college-wide. In 2007 Wesley introduced tablet styled notebook computers and was the first educational institution in Australia to do so, but by 2010 were no longer being issued. In 2008, Art students were using Wacom pen-tablets for drawing use. Wesley introduced

interactive whiteboards An interactive whiteboard (IWB), also known as interactive board, interactive display, interactive digital board or smart board, is a large interactive display board in the form factor of a whiteboard. It can either be a standalone touchsc ...

across all classrooms and some lecture theatres in 2008, allowing notes to be printed to a nearby printer or emailed to students.Principal's Quarterly Letter to the Wesley College Community, September 2008 The college also began trialling electronic reading devices in 2008.Wesley College Glen Waverley Campus Newsletter, 2008 – Issue: 27

Sustainability

In 2008, "green" guidelines were set for staff and students. At Glen Waverley, a desalination plant with four 260,000 litre tanks was installed in 2008 to treat water sourced from a bore originally installed in 1996. It is planned to recycle storm water and run-off irrigation water via storage in 15 additional 110,000 litre tanks to be installed by the end of June 2008. The Glen Waverley campus has 22 worm farms to recycle food scraps.Wesley College Glen Waverley Campus Newsletter, 2008 – Issue: 2 (15 February 2008) At the St Kilda Road campus, a joint venture with the college's neighbour, Deaf Children Australia, is in place to drill a bore and two 55,000 litre tanks have been installed. At the Elsternwick campus, an artificial turf surface has been installed on the ovals. In maintaining with the college's environmental commitment, the lawn will be a carbon neutral project with additional landscaping to be undertaken around the perimeter to maximize rain catchment. As a result of a successful trial last year using bio-diesel in some of the college's buses, bio-diesel is being implemented for all suitable vehicles across the college.Wesley College Glen Waverley Campus Newsletter, 2008 – Issue: 14 The college's electricity is now supplied from 25% green power sources. In 2007 the Glen Waverley Junior School became the first independent school in Australia to receive a five-star energy rating from the Australian Government Sustainable Schools Program and by 2008 all campuses had received five-star energy ratings. Sustainability is now part of the college curriculum. In December 2007, Wesley was recognised by Yarra Valley Water in its advertising material for its sustainable water usage, its major water management policy and for reducing its water consumption by 68%.

Wesley College Institute for Innovation in education

The Wesley College Institute for Innovation in Education was launched in 2005. Since 2007, the Wesley College Institute has been working with the

Australian Council for Educational Research The Australian Council for Educational Research (ACER), established in 1930, is an independent educational research organisation based in Camberwell, Victoria (Melbourne) and with offices in Adelaide, Brisbane, Cyberjaya, Dubai, Jakarta, London ...

and the Australian Government's Education Department to develop the ''

Australian Certificate of Education The Australian Certificate of Education (ACE) is the name of a proposed national senior secondary school certificate to replace the various existing Australian state and territory certificates in the upcoming Australian Curriculum. The scheme was ...

– Vocational''. To this end, a pilot vocational program is being considered within the cattle industry in northern Western Australia, as part of the partnership Wesley has with the community at Fitzroy River. The institute is currently working on a project to establish studio colleges across remote outback Australia. The first studio college is located on Leopold Downs station about 80 km from

Fitzroy Crossing Fitzroy or FitzRoy may refer to: People Given name * Several members of the Somerset family (Dukes of Beaufort) have this as a middle-name: ** FitzRoy Somerset, 1st Baron Raglan (1788–1855) ** Henry Somerset, 8th Duke of Beaufort (Henry Charles ...

. In April 2010, the Wesley College Institute hosted the 2010 Global Language Convention at Glen Waverley, with delegates attending from 17 universities and over 140 schools.

Notable alumni

Wesley College's alumni include two former prime ministers, thirteen Rhodes scholars, five current supreme court judges and 36 Olympic athletes. Among the most notable Old Wesley Collegians are former

Australian Prime Minister The prime minister of Australia is the head of government of the Commonwealth of Australia. The prime minister is the chair of the Cabinet of Australia and thus the head of the federal executive government. Under the principles of responsibl ...

Sir Robert Menzies ''Sir'' is a formal honorific address in English for men, derived from Sire in the High Middle Ages. Both are derived from the old French "" (Lord), brought to England by the French-speaking Normans, and which now exist in French only as part ...

and

Harold Holt Harold Edward Holt (5 August 190817 December 1967) was an Australian politician and lawyer who served as the 17th prime minister of Australia from 1966 until Disappearance of Harold Holt, his disappearance and presumed death in 1967. He held o ...

, historian Professor Geoffrey Blainey AC, cricketers

Sam Loxton Samuel John Everett Loxton (29 March 19213 December 2011) was an Australian cricketer, footballer and politician. Among these three pursuits, his greatest achievements were attained on the cricket field; he played in 12 Tests for Australia fr ...

and Ian Johnson (both members of The Invincibles), AFL player and dual Brownlow Medallist

Ivor Warne-Smith Ivor Warne-Smith (29 October 1897 – 4 March 1960) was an Australian footballer who played for the Melbourne Football Club in the Victorian Football League and for the Latrobe Football Club in the North-Western Football Union in Tasmania. D ...

and politician, businessman and Olympian Sir Frank Beaurepaire, multiple Olympic and World Championship gold medallist

Michael Klim Michael George Klim, OAM (born 13 August 1977) is an Australian swimmer, Olympic gold medalist, world champion, and former world record-holder of the 1990s and 2000s. He is known as the creator of straight-arm freestyle. Early years Klim was ...

, multiple world champion Emma Carney, tennis player

Mark Philippoussis Mark Anthony Philippoussis (born 7 November 1976) is an Australian tennis coach, commentator and former professional tennis player of Greek and Italian descent. Philippoussis' greatest achievements are winning two Davis Cup titles with Austra ...

, netballer

Sharelle McMahon Sharelle Jane McMahon (born 12 August 1977) is an Australian former netball player who captained the Australia national netball team. She played in the goal attack and goal shooter positions. Domestic career Born in Bamawm, Victoria, McMahon ...

and multiple knights of the realm.

Notes and references

Sources

* ''Adamson of Wesley: the story of a Great Headmaster''. Lawrence Arthur Adamson & Felix Meyer (1932) Robertson & Mullens BRN 155 * ''Wesley College – The First Hundred Years''.

, James Morrisey and S.E.K. Hulme (1967) Robertson & Mullens * ''A Great Australian School: Wesley College Examined''. Andrew Lemon (2004) Helicon Press * ''Wesley College Chronicle 2007''. Wesley College Community (2007) Wesley College, Melbourne * ''Lion Magazine August 2007 Edition''. Wesley College Community (2007) Wesley College, Melbourne * ''Cisco Systems Case study – Wesley College''. Cisco Systems (2007)

Cisco Cisco Systems, Inc. (using the trademark Cisco) is an American multinational digital communications technology conglomerate corporation headquartered in San Jose, California. Cisco develops, manufactures, and sells networking hardware, s ...

Australia * ''Wesley College Technology 2008''. Wesley College, Melbourne (2008) Wesley College, Melbourne

External links

*
Old Wesley Collegians Association Website

Wesley College Performing Arts Website

Wesley College Melbourne – Reflections by Martyn Smith
{{APS Schools Associated Public Schools of Victoria Educational institutions established in 1866 International Baccalaureate schools in Australia Member schools of the Headmasters' and Headmistresses' Conference Private secondary schools in Melbourne Former Methodist schools in Australia Uniting Church schools in Australia 1866 establishments in Australia Private primary schools in Melbourne Boarding schools in Victoria (state) Buildings and structures in the City of Melbourne (LGA) Buildings and structures in the City of Monash Buildings and structures in the City of Glen Eira Glen Waverley, Victoria Elsternwick, Victoria