Servite College is an

independent Independent or Independents may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Artist groups * Independents (artist group), a group of modernist painters based in the New Hope, Pennsylvania, area of the United States during the early 1930s * Independ ...

Roman Catholic Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *'' Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a lette ...

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 t ...

secondary Secondary may refer to: Science and nature * Secondary emission, of particles ** Secondary electrons, electrons generated as ionization products * The secondary winding, or the electrical or electronic circuit connected to the secondary winding i ...

day school A day school — as opposed to a boarding school — is an educational institution where children and adolescents are given instructions during the day, after which the students return to their homes. A day school has full-day programs when compar ...

, located in the

Perth Perth is the capital and largest city of the Australian state of Western Australia. It is the fourth most populous city in Australia and Oceania, with a population of 2.1 million (80% of the state) living in Greater Perth in 2020. Perth is ...

suburb of Tuart Hill, Western Australia. The school is operated by the

Servite Order The Servite Order, officially known as the Order of Servants of Mary ( la, Ordo Servorum Beatae Mariae Virginis; abbreviation: OSM), is one of the five original Catholic mendicant orders. It includes several branches of friars (priests and brothe ...

History

Servite College was founded by members of the

, who arrived in Perth in late 1951. In 1958 the Servite Friars established St. Philip’s Regional High School for Boys in Tuart Hill. The school opened with 95 students in two classrooms, educating boys in years 5 and 6. In 1968 the name was changed to Servite College, and in 1973 the College became the first co-educational Catholic secondary school in Western Australia, accepting female students from neighbouring St Kieran, now a Catholic primary school. For the school's first two years, all teachers were priests or

brothers A brother is a man or boy who shares one or more parents with another; a male sibling. The female counterpart is a sister. Although the term typically refers to a familial relationship, it is sometimes used endearingly to refer to non-familia ...

. In 1960 the first

lay Lay may refer to: Places *Lay Range, a subrange of mountains in British Columbia, Canada *Lay, Loire, a French commune *Lay (river), France *Lay, Iran, a village *Lay, Kansas, United States, an unincorporated community People * Lay (surname) * ...

teacher was employed; the first lay principal was Jack Shanahan, in 1976.

Operations

School structure

The College is led by the College Council and College Executive. The Council provides strategic leadership and represents the diverse Servite community, including parents and business leaders. The Executive has oversight for all aspects of the school’s operations. Students are represented through a Student Executive, including the

head boy Head boy and head girl are student leadership roles in schools, representing the school's entire student body. They are normally the most senior prefects in the school. The terms are commonly used in the British education system as well as in Aus ...

and head girl, and leaders from Years 7 to 12 of community, sport, culture, ICT and ministry. , there are just over 1,000 students attending Servite College. Upon enrolment students are assigned to one of six priories (or factions): * Annunziata (gold) * Senario (black) * San Clemente (green) * St Mary (blue) * Our Lady of Sorrows (purple) * St Anthony (red) Each played a role in the history of the

that was founded in Florence in the 13th century by the

Seven Holy Founders The Seven Holy Founders of the Servite Order, by name Bonfilius, Alexis, Manettus, Amideus, Hugh, Sostene and Buonagiunta of Florence, were seven holy men of the town of Florence whom became bound to each other in a spiritual friendship that were ...

. Students are further divided into vertical

homeroom A homeroom, tutor group, form class, or form is a brief administrative period that occurs in a classroom assigned to a student in primary school and in secondary school. Within a homeroom period or classroom, administrative documents are distri ...

s of about 25 students from all year groups, along with their siblings.

Campus

The campus is located between Cape Street and Morgans Street in Tuart Hill, and comprises: * Alexis Research Centre: library and classrooms * Jack Shanahan wing: general classrooms * Fra Paolo Sarpi Science wing: science labs and classrooms * Learning Diversity Centre * Seven Holy Founders Centre: gymnasium and auditorium * Montorsoli Practical and Creative Art Space * St Philip Administration Centre The College has undergone major works since 2015. In 2016 the Alexis Research Centre was remodelled to create a library space. In 2020 the central courtyard was excavated to provide a new piazza between classrooms and some original buildings refurbished. The Seven Holy Founders Centre hosts a gymnasium with

rock climbing wall A climbing wall is an artificially constructed wall with grips for hands and feet, usually used for indoor climbing, but sometimes located outdoors. Some are brick or wooden constructions, but on most modern walls, the material most often used i ...

, a dance studio, weights room and a 200 seat auditorium drama and musical productions. 2020 also saw the opening of a new Learning Diversity Centre to replace the Blessed Joachim Centre, a purpose-built space for students with different needs and abilities, including specific

learning disorders Learning disability, learning disorder, or learning difficulty (British English) is a condition in the brain that causes difficulties comprehending or processing information and can be caused by several different factors. Given the "difficult ...

. It has facilities to teach practical skills for independent living. The central area of the campus is a landscaped space for students to gather and socialise. A large arts space is located in a separate building on the northern side of Cape Street catering for visual and fine arts, design technologies (woodwork, cooking, fabrics) and applied information technologies. The College has access to nearby Grenville Oval for sporting activities, and recently acquired the adjacent 25m outdoor swimming pool. In 2020 the College purchased a 55 acre rural campus near Nannup, the south west of Western Australia. Known as the Southern Campus, the site is used for camps and retreats, and sleeps 60 students.

Education

The College offers programs for both

university A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. Universities typically offer both undergraduate and postgraduate programs. In the United States, t ...

entry and

vocational education and training Vocational education is education that prepares people to work as a technician or to take up employment in a skilled craft or trade as a tradesman, tradesperson or artisan. Vocational Education can also be seen as that type of education give ...

Athletics

Servite College competes in the Northern Associated Schools (NAS) league and the Associated Catholic Colleges' annual swimming and athletic carnivals. Its NAS competitors include Sacred Heart College, Chisholm College, Newman College and John XXIII College in Perth.

Controversy

In September 2010 a Servite College teacher of religion, Aaron Patrick Baker, was sentenced in the Perth District Court after pleading guilty to counts of possessing 2,176 images and 102 videos of child pornography. Servite College terminated Baker's employment. Baker was given a custodial sentence of 15 months, with a nine month non-parole period and was ordered by the court to be put through psychological counselling and a sex offender treatment program. In March 2019, Arthur Frank Mowle, was jailed for five years after pleading guilty to five charges resulting from the

Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse The Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse was a royal commission announced in November 2012 and established in 2013 by the Government of Australia, Australian government pursuant to the Royal Commissions Act 1902 t ...

. Mowle was working at Servite College when in 1986 he abused a Year 9 student on two occasions. The student sufferer from migraines; Mowle placed his hand inside the boy's underwear, telling him: "It’s OK. Sometimes migraines are caused by issues in this area."

Notable alumni

* David Michael (politician) * Francis J. Sullivan * Justin Burford (musician)

References

External links

Servite College
{{Authority control Educational institutions established in 1958 1958 establishments in Australia Catholic secondary schools in Perth, Western Australia Servite schools