St Mary MacKillop College, also known as MacKillop 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 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 ...

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 ...

secondary school A secondary school, high school, or senior school, is an institution that provides secondary education. Some secondary schools provide both ''lower secondary education'' (ages 11 to 14) and ''upper secondary education'' (ages 14 to 18), i.e., b ...

located in ,

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 ...

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...

. The school is located in the parish of Swan Hill within the

Roman Catholic Diocese of Ballarat The Diocese of Ballarat, based in Ballarat, Australia, is a diocese in the ecclesiastical province of Melbourne. It is a suffragan diocese of the Archdiocese of Melbourne and was established in 1874. Its geography covers the west, Wimmera and M ...

.Catholic Diocese Ballarat - Parishes
accessed 7 March 2008

Overview

Moves to open a secondary school to service the Swan Hill, Kerang and Quambatook Parishes began in 1981; prior to this Catholic education was only available to primary school children in the area. The school was opened in 1987, having operated classes for students in Years 7 and 8 out of St Mary's Primary School since 1983.MacKillop College Swan Hill
, accessed 1 March 2008 Educating young people in remote areas is central to both orders.MacKillop College Swan Hill - AJASS
accessed 7 March 2008 The school is named for the Australian educationalist

Mary MacKillop Mary Helen MacKillop RSJ ( in religion Mary of the Cross; 15 January 1842 – 8 August 1909) was an Australian religious sister. She was born in Melbourne but is best known for her activities in South Australia. Together with Fr Julian Teniso ...

, and the school motto is that of the MacKillop family. MacKillop College offers an international study program, Intercultural Education Today, with students primarily from

Japan Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea ...

. Students begin their study at MacKillop in Year 10 and may continue through Year 11 and 12. The program is promoted as allowing student to become fluent in English: courses include

English as a second language English as a second or foreign language refers to the use of English by individuals whose native language is different, commonly among students learning to speak and write English. Variably known as English as a foreign language (EFL), Engli ...

, core subjects in Japanese and electives with local students, and students live with local families during their study.School Profile: MacKillop College
accessed 7 March 2008 MacKillop College ran an exchange program for year 8 with Emmanuel College,

Warrnambool Warrnambool (; Eastern Maar, Maar: ''Peetoop'' or ''Wheringkernitch'' or ''Warrnambool'') is a city on the south-western coast of Victoria (Australia), Victoria, Australia. At the Census in Australia#2021, 2021 census, Warrnambool had a populati ...

, until 2006.

Principals

MacKillop College's first principal was a Josephite sister; having had a series of lay principals, the school's current principal, Michelle Haeusler who replaced Rob Aron who replaced Marist Brother Tony Paterson in 2011.

Notable alumni

* Ross Smith – Australian representative to the 2012 Olympics in badminton *

Brent Daniels Brent Daniels (born 9 March 1999) is a professional Australian rules footballer playing for the Greater Western Sydney Giants in the Australian Football League (AFL). He made his debut in round 16 of the 2018 season against the West Coast Eagle ...

– AFL Footballer *

Paddy Dow Patrick "Paddy" Dow (born 16 October 1999) is a professional Australian rules footballer playing for the St Kilda Football Club in the Australian Football League (AFL). He was drafted by Carlton with their first selection, and third overall, in ...

– AFL Footballer *

Thomson Dow Thomson Dow (born 16 October 2001) is a professional Australian rules footballer playing for the Richmond Football Club in the Australian Football League (AFL). He played junior representative football with the Bendigo Pioneers, was drafted by ...

– AFL Footballer

References

External links

* {{Secondary schools in Victoria, state=collapsed Catholic secondary schools in Victoria (state) Educational institutions established in 1987 1987 establishments in Australia Swan Hill