Loreto College Marryatville 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 Pennsylvania, United States * Independentes (English: Independents), a Portuguese artist ...

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 ...

primary Primary or primaries may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Music Groups and labels * Primary (band), from Australia * Primary (musician), hip hop musician and record producer from South Korea * Primary Music, Israeli record label Work ...

and secondary

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and

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 hor ...

school for

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in Marryatville, an inner-eastern suburb of

Adelaide Adelaide ( , ; ) is the list of Australian capital cities, capital and most populous city of South Australia, as well as the list of cities in Australia by population, fifth-most populous city in Australia. The name "Adelaide" may refer to ei ...

, located approximately from the

Adelaide city centre Adelaide city centre () is the inner city locality of Adelaide, Greater Adelaide, the capital city of South Australia. It is known by locals simply as "the City" or "Town" to distinguish it from Greater Adelaide and from the City of Adelaide l ...

, in

South Australia South Australia (commonly abbreviated as SA) is a States and territories of Australia, state in the southern central part of Australia. With a total land area of , it is the fourth-largest of Australia's states and territories by area, which in ...

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. Established in 1905, the school is one of many around the world directed by the

Institute of the Blessed Virgin Mary The Institute of the Blessed Virgin Mary, whose members are commonly known as the Loreto Sisters, is a Roman Catholic religious congregation of women dedicated to education founded in Saint-Omer by an Englishwoman, Mary Ward, in 1609. The cong ...

(IBVM). It caters to approximately 1,000 students from

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, including 70 boarding students.

History

The first Loreto Convent in Adelaide was founded on Sydenham Road, Norwood in 1905. The school opened with only five students and operated in a small house. Two years later, the school moved to a larger house on Eastry Street and The Parade, Norwood.

College growth

In December 1920, with an increasing number of pupils, the school moved to the current site " The Acacias," a plot in Marryatville. The new schoolhouse opened in February 1921. The junior school was housed in the ballroom, the billiard room became the dining room, and the original dining room was converted to a

chapel A chapel (from , a diminutive of ''cappa'', meaning "little cape") is a Christianity, Christian place of prayer and worship that is usually relatively small. The term has several meanings. First, smaller spaces inside a church that have their o ...

. Senior classes were held in two rooms on the ground floor, and boarders slept on the first floor. The nuns occupied the former servants' quarters. By 1925, the stables had been converted into junior school classrooms. The ballroom was converted into a chapel in 1946, with the former chapel becoming a dining room for boarding students. A new wing was opened on 27 May 1951, with classrooms downstairs and

dormitories A dormitory (originated from the Latin word ''dormitorium'', often abbreviated to dorm), also known as a hall of residence, a residence hall (often abbreviated to halls), or a hostel, is a building primarily providing sleeping and residential qu ...

for the boarders located upstairs. In 1959, a science lab and additional classrooms were added. The Junior School was built in 1961, and the Mary Ward wing of the Senior School built in 1969. The increasing number of students necessitated new buildings and facilities; the Gymnasium and Art facilities were constructed in 1998. Up until 1998, in the Eastern District there were two all-boys colleges, St. Ignatius & Rostrevor. In 2005, four new middle school classrooms were built in the junior school to house Year 7 students and Chinese language classes. In conjunction with Montessori, the co-educational Loreto Bapthorpe Early Learning Centre was created, which began operations at the beginning of 2006. Out of School Hours care, the new Portrush Road wall, car parking, and landscaping were also developed in 2005. A Hospitality and Food Technology Centre was opened in 2006 to deliver and expand curriculum offerings. In 2007, a new Boarding Precinct Development and the St Gertrude's Music Centre were opened. In 2010, the St Anne's Performing Arts Centre was opened.

Houses

Loreto Marryatville has 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 ...

: Students are allocated to different houses which they represent at the school's annual events including the Swimming Carnival, Athletics Carnival, and Performing Arts Festival.

Notable alumnae

* Jessica Adamson ('89) – journalist & TV presenter * Isobel Borlase – Australian basketball player *

Libby Kosmala Elizabeth "Libby" Dudley Kosmala (née Richards) (born 8 July 1942) is an Australian shooting sports, shooter with paraplegia. She Australia at the Paralympics, represented Australia at twelve Paralympics from 1972 to 2016, and won thirteen me ...

– Paralympian nine-time gold medalist for shooting

Notable staff

Chloë Fox Chloë Catienne Fox (born 22 February 1971) is an Australian politician who represented the South Australian House of Assembly seat of Bright from 2006 to 2014 for the Labor Party. Personal life Fox is the daughter of Australian children's au ...

– English, French and History

References

External links

Loreto College website
{{Alliance of Girls' Schools Australasia schools, state=autocollapse Girls' schools in South Australia Catholic boarding schools in Australia Educational institutions established in 1905 Junior School Heads Association of Australia Member Schools Boarding schools in South Australia 1905 establishments in Australia Catholic secondary schools in Adelaide Catholic primary schools in Adelaide Alliance of Girls' Schools Australasia