, motto_translation = Strong in Faith , city =

Toowoomba Toowoomba ( , nicknamed 'The Garden City' and 'T-Bar') is a city in the Toowoomba Region of the Darling Downs, Queensland, Australia. It is west of Queensland's capital city Brisbane by road. The urban population of Toowoomba as of the 2021 ...

, state =

Queensland ) , nickname = Sunshine State , image_map = Queensland in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of Queensland in Australia , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , establishe ...

, country =

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands. With an area of , Australia is the largest country by ...

, coordinates = , type =

Private Private or privates may refer to: Music * " In Private", by Dusty Springfield from the 1990 album ''Reputation'' * Private (band), a Denmark-based band * "Private" (Ryōko Hirosue song), from the 1999 album ''Private'', written and also recorde ...

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 A day is the time period of a full rotation of the Earth with respect to the Sun. On average, this is 24 hours, 1440 minutes, or 86,400 seconds. In everyday life, the word "day" often refers to a solar day, which is the length between two ...

boarding Boarding may refer to: *Boarding, used in the sense of "room and board", i.e. lodging and meals as in a: ** Boarding house **Boarding school *Boarding (horses) (also known as a livery yard, livery stable, or boarding stable), is a stable where ho ...

, denomination =

Catholic The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

, established = 1931 , founder = Jules Chevalier (founder of the MSC) , principal = Stephen Koch , grades = 4–12 , gender =

Coeducation 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 ...

al , enrolment = ~900 , colours = Royal blue and cardinal red , affiliations = , website
www.downlands.qld.edu.au
Downlands College, officially named Downlands Sacred Heart College, is a

private Private or privates may refer to: Music * " In Private", by Dusty Springfield from the 1990 album ''Reputation'' * Private (band), a Denmark-based band * "Private" (Ryōko Hirosue song), from the 1999 album ''Private'', written and also recorde ...

coeducation 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 ...

al,

and

school at

Harlaxton Harlaxton is a village and civil parish in the South Kesteven district of Lincolnshire, England. It lies on the edge of the Vale of Belvoir and just off the A607, south-west from Grantham and north-east from Melton Mowbray. History A ...

, Australia. Founded by the

Missionaries of the Sacred Heart The Missionaries of the Sacred Heart of Jesus (MSC; la, Missionarii Sacratissimi Cordis; french: Missionnaires du Sacré-Coeur) are a missionary congregation in the Catholic Church. It was founded in 1854 by Servant of God Jules Chevalier (182 ...

in 1931, the college began as a boarding school for boys with a total enrolment of 68. Downlands is Queensland's only Catholic, coeducational, day and boarding school years 4-12. The school offers boarding for both boys and girls and demand for co-educational boarding is high as it allows families and siblings to remain together. The school has an enrollment of approximately 290 boarders from regional Queensland, interstate and overseas, including

indigenous Indigenous may refer to: *Indigenous peoples *Indigenous (ecology), presence in a region as the result of only natural processes, with no human intervention *Indigenous (band), an American blues-rock band *Indigenous (horse), a Hong Kong racehorse ...

students from communities such as

Kowanyama Kowanyama is a town and coastal locality in the Aboriginal Shire of Kowanyama, Queensland, Australia. It is the site of the former Mitchell River Mission, founded in 1916, after the nearby Trubanamen Mission (established not far away on Tops ...

and the

Tiwi Islands The Tiwi Islands ( tiw, Ratuati Irara meaning "two islands") are part of the Northern Territory, Australia, to the north of Darwin adjoining the Timor Sea. They comprise Melville Island, Bathurst Island, and nine smaller uninhabited islands, w ...

. The school also provides casual boarding to its day students. Downlands College is one of the biggest boarding schools in Queensland.

College badge

The Downlands College Badge consists of a horizontally-divided field in the College colours, royal blue and cardinal red. The upper of the shield carries a gold

gryphon The griffin, griffon, or gryphon ( Ancient Greek: , ''gryps''; Classical Latin: ''grȳps'' or ''grȳpus''; Late and Medieval Latin: ''gryphes'', ''grypho'' etc.; Old French: ''griffon'') is a legendary creature with the body, tail, and ...

, and the lower half bears the

Maltese Cross The Maltese cross is a cross symbol, consisting of four " V" or arrowhead shaped concave quadrilaterals converging at a central vertex at right angles, two tips pointing outward symmetrically. It is a heraldic cross variant which develope ...

of the State of Queensland. The shield is surmounted by the heart crest with the letters SHC (Sacred Heart College) supported by a ram's horns and ears of

wheat Wheat is a grass widely cultivated for its seed, a cereal grain that is a worldwide staple food. The many species of wheat together make up the genus ''Triticum'' ; the most widely grown is common wheat (''T. aestivum''). The archaeologi ...

, to symbolise the college's setting in the

Darling Downs The Darling Downs is a farming region on the western slopes of the Great Dividing Range in southern Queensland, Australia. The Downs are to the west of South East Queensland and are one of the major regions of Queensland. The name was general ...

. The college motto, ''Fortes in Fide'', meaning ''Strong in Faith'' is emblazoned under the crest.

House system

Downlands, like many Australian schools, uses a

house system The house system is a traditional feature of schools in the United Kingdom. The practice has since spread to Commonwealth countries and the United States. The school is divided into subunits called "houses" and each student is allocated to on ...

in the college. Students are randomly assigned to one of four houses which compete against each other during

swimming Swimming is the self-propulsion of a person through water, or other liquid, usually for recreation, sport, exercise, or survival. Locomotion is achieved through coordinated movement of the limbs and the body to achieve hydrodynamic thrust that r ...

and athletics carnivals, as well as a drama festival. The Downlands houses are:

Extra-curricular activities

Downlands College is known as the School of Choice, offering an extensive and varied curriculum and co-curricular offering.

Sport

Downlands has long been recognised as one of the strongest sporting schools in Queensland.

Rugby union Rugby union, commonly known simply as rugby, is a close-contact team sport that originated at Rugby School in the first half of the 19th century. One of the two codes of rugby football, it is based on running with the ball in hand. In it ...

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly ...

(soccer),

netball Netball is a ball sport played on a court by two teams of seven players. It is among a rare number of sports which have been created exclusively for female competitors. The sport is played on indoor and outdoor netball courts and is specifical ...

cricket Cricket is a bat-and-ball game played between two teams of eleven players on a field at the centre of which is a pitch with a wicket at each end, each comprising two bails balanced on three stumps. The batting side scores runs by st ...

tennis Tennis is a racket sport that is played either individually against a single opponent (singles) or between two teams of two players each (doubles). Each player uses a tennis racket that is strung with cord to strike a hollow rubber ball cov ...

, touch football,

softball Softball is a game similar to baseball played with a larger ball on a smaller field. Softball is played competitively at club levels, the college level, and the professional level. The game was first created in 1887 in Chicago by George Hanc ...

Australian rules football Australian football, also called Australian rules football or Aussie rules, or more simply football or footy, is a contact sport played between two teams of 18 players on an oval field, often a modified cricket ground. Points are scored by k ...

hockey Hockey is a term used to denote a family of various types of both summer and winter team sports which originated on either an outdoor field, sheet of ice, or dry floor such as in a gymnasium. While these sports vary in specific rules, numbers o ...

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appr ...

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), competi ...

and

are the main sports played at the college, with a large number of students taking part in organised sport throughout the year. Downlands is a member of the Catholic Secondary Schoolgirls' Sports Association (CaSSSA). The college's

mascot A mascot is any human, animal, or object thought to bring luck, or anything used to represent a group with a common public identity, such as a school, professional sports team, society, military unit, or brand name. Mascots are also used as ...

is the Gryphon, who makes appearances at certain inter-school competitions.

Arts

One of the newest facilities at Downlands is its large

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 are the use of paint, canvas or various materials to create physical or static art objects. Perfo ...

department, catering for all age groups. The College

choir A choir ( ; also known as a chorale or chorus) is a musical ensemble of singers. Choral music, in turn, is the music written specifically for such an ensemble to perform. Choirs may perform music from the classical music repertoire, which sp ...

s and

musical ensemble A musical ensemble, also known as a music group or musical group, is a group of people who perform instrumental and/or vocal music, with the ensemble typically known by a distinct name. Some music ensembles consist solely of instrumentalists ...

s, as well as individual students, are regular participants in the Toowoomba

Eisteddfod In Welsh culture, an ''eisteddfod'' is an institution and festival with several ranked competitions, including in poetry and music. The term ''eisteddfod'', which is formed from the Welsh morphemes: , meaning 'sit', and , meaning 'be', means, ac ...

. Downlands runs a

musical Musical is the adjective of music. Musical may also refer to: * Musical theatre, a performance art that combines songs, spoken dialogue, acting and dance * Musical film Musical film is a film genre in which songs by the characters are interwo ...

every two years with participation across all grades. Recent musicals include Wicked (2020), Crazy For You (2018), Les Miserables (2016), High School Musical 2, Footloose (2008),

The Wiz ''The Wiz: The Super Soul Musical "Wonderful Wizard of Oz"'' is a musical with music and lyrics by Charlie Smalls (and others) and book by William F. Brown. It is a retelling of L. Frank Baum's children's novel '' The Wonderful Wizard of Oz'' ...

(2007),

Disco Inferno "Disco Inferno" is a song by American disco band the Trammps from their 1976 fourth studio album of the same name. With two other cuts by the group, it reached No. 1 on the US ''Billboard'' Dance Club Songs chart in early 1977, but had limit ...

(2006) and SherWoodstock (2005). With the upcoming musical being another addition to Downlands already extensive Performing Arts retinue. The college also enters teams into the Queensland Debating Union, with much success.

Heritage listing

The grounds of the school contain the

heritage-listed This list is of heritage registers, inventories of cultural properties, natural and man-made, tangible and intangible, movable and immovable, that are deemed to be of sufficient heritage value to be separately identified and recorded. In many i ...

Tyson Manor Tyson Manor is a heritage-listed house at Ruthven Street with the grounds of Downlands College in Harlaxton, Toowoomba, Toowoomba Region, Queensland, Australia. It is also known as Strathmore. It was added to the Queensland Heritage Register ...

Principals

Notable alumni

* Senator Gerard Rennick - Federal Senator for Queensland, 2019- * Mike Ahern AO - former

Premier of Queensland The premier of Queensland is the head of government in the Australian state of Queensland. By convention the premier is the leader of the party with a parliamentary majority in the unicameral Legislative Assembly of Queensland. The premier is ap ...

*Sir

Gerard Brennan Sir Francis Gerard Brennan (22 May 1928 – 1 June 2022) was an Australian lawyer and jurist who served as the 10th Chief Justice of Australia. As a judge in the High Court of Australia, he wrote the lead judgement on the Mabo decision, whi ...

– Chief Justice of Australia 1995–1998 * Frank Brennan SJ, AO – Jesuit priest, human rights lawyer and academic * Sir Walter Campbell - judge of the

Supreme Court of Queensland The Supreme Court of Queensland is the highest court in the Australian State of Queensland. It was formerly the Brisbane Supreme Court, in the colony of Queensland. The original jurisdiction of the Supreme Court allows its trial division to h ...

, Chancellor of the

University of Queensland , mottoeng = By means of knowledge and hard work , established = , endowment = A$224.3 million , budget = A$2.1 billion , type = Public research university , chancellor = Peter Varghese , vice_chancellor = Deborah Terry , city = B ...

, and

Governor of Queensland The governor of Queensland is the representative in the state of Queensland of the monarch of Australia. In an analogous way to the governor-general of Australia at the national level, the governor performs constitutional and ceremonial func ...

Major General Major general (abbreviated MG, maj. gen. and similar) is a military rank used in many countries. It is derived from the older rank of sergeant major general. The disappearance of the "sergeant" in the title explains the apparent confusion of ...

John Cantwell DSC, LOM, AO - Army officer, author and academic * Gene Fairbanks - rugby union * Greg Holmes - rugby union *

Tim Horan Tim Horan AM (born 18 May 1970) is a former Australian rugby union footballer. He played for the Queensland Reds in the Super 12, and represented Australia. He was one of the best centres in the world throughout the 1990s due to his attackin ...

- rugby union *

Michael Katsidis Michael Alan Katsidis ( ; el, Μιχάλης Κατσίδης; born 15 August 1980) is an Australian former professional boxer who competed from 2001 to 2017. He held the WBO interim lightweight title twice between 2007 and 2010, and challenge ...

professional boxer Professional boxing, or prizefighting, is regulated, sanctioned boxing. Professional boxing bouts are fought for a purse that is divided between the boxers as determined by contract. Most professional bouts are supervised by a regulatory autho ...

* George Kneipp (1922–1993) - judge of the Supreme Court of Queensland, and Chancellor James Cook University *

Vince Lester Vincent Patrick Lester (born 28 July 1939) is an Australian politician. He was a National Party member of the Legislative Assembly of Queensland The Legislative Assembly of Queensland is the sole chamber of the unicameral Parliament of Q ...

- politician *

Ann Leahy Ann Leahy (born 8 August 1971) is an Australian politician. She has been the Liberal National Party member for Warrego in the Queensland Legislative Assembly since 2015. Prior to her pre-selection for Warrego by the Liberal National Party, Le ...

- politician * Garrick Morgan - rugby union * Tony Nunan - CEO of

Queensland Gas Company QGC Pty Ltd (previously Queensland Gas Company) is one of the largest of several Australian coalbed methane companies developing methane reserves within the Bowen and Surat Basins of Queensland. The company has an estimated value of around A$ ...

and

Royal Dutch Shell Shell plc is a British multinational oil and gas company headquartered in London, England. Shell is a public limited company with a primary listing on the London Stock Exchange (LSE) and secondary listings on Euronext Amsterdam and the New ...

in Australia *

Mary O'Kane Mary Josephine O'Kane, AC (born 1954) an Australian scientist and engineer, is the Chair of the Independent Planning Commission of New South Wales (formerly the NSW Planning Assessment Commission). She is also a company director and Executive ...

- Australian scientist * Mark O’Shea - one half of the

country music Country (also called country and western) is a genre of popular music that originated in the Southern and Southwestern United States in the early 1920s. It primarily derives from blues, church music such as Southern gospel and spirituals, ...

duo

O'Shea O'Shea is a surname and, less often, a given name. It is an anglicized form of the Irish patronymic name Ó Séaghdha or Ó Sé, originating in the Kingdom of Corcu Duibne in County Kerry. Notable people with the name include: Surname *Alicia ...

* Will Power – international

motorsports Motorsport, motorsports or motor sport is a global term used to encompass the group of competitive sporting events which primarily involve the use of motorized vehicles. The terminology can also be used to describe forms of competition of tw ...

driver * Peter Ryan - rugby union and rugby league * Brett Robinson - rugby union *

Josh Smith Joshua Smith (born December 5, 1985) is an American former professional basketball player who played 13 seasons in the National Basketball Association (NBA). Entering the NBA straight out of high school, Smith played nine seasons with the Atlan ...

- Australian Rules football *

Dominic Tabuna Dominic Joselito Tabuna (born 9 August 1980) is a Nauruan politician. Earlier political career Tabuna was elected to parliament in the 2004 general elections, gaining the seat of Pres Ekwona. He has been subsequently re-elected in 2007 and 2 ...

- Nauruan politician *

Tom Veivers Thomas Robert Veivers (born 6 April 1937) is an Australian former cricketer, teacher, politician and public administrator who played in 21 cricket Test matches between 1963 and 1967. He is the great-uncle of Jack Wildermuth. Cricket career ...

- cricketer and politician *

Dennis Manteit Dennis Manteit (born 18 February 1943 in Jandowae, Queensland) is an Australian former rugby league footballer who played in the 1960s and 1970s. In 2015, he was inducted into the Downlands College Hall of Fame for his success in international ...

- Rugby League (Australia)

References

External links

School website

Missionaries of the Sacred Heart Webpage
{{Authority control Schools in Toowoomba Catholic primary schools in Queensland Catholic secondary schools in Queensland Boarding schools in Queensland Educational institutions established in 1931 Missionaries of the Sacred Heart 1931 establishments in Australia