Saint Ignatius' College Riverview is an Australian independent single-sex primary and secondary
day
A day is the time rotation period, period of a full Earth's rotation, rotation of the Earth with respect to the Sun. On average, this is 24 hours (86,400 seconds). As a day passes at a given location it experiences morning, afternoon, evening, ...
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 boys located in
Riverview, a small suburb on the
Lane Cove River
The Lane Cove River, a northern tributary of the Parramatta River, is a tide-dominated, drowned valley estuary west of Sydney Harbour, located in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. The river winds through a bushland valley and joins Parramatt ...
on the
Lower North Shore of Sydney.
Established in 1880 by
Joseph Dalton SJ,
Saint Ignatius' is a
Jesuit
The Society of Jesus (; abbreviation: S.J. or SJ), also known as the Jesuit Order or the Jesuits ( ; ), is a religious order (Catholic), religious order of clerics regular of pontifical right for men in the Catholic Church headquartered in Rom ...
school in the tradition of
Saint Ignatius of Loyola
Ignatius of Loyola ( ; ; ; ; born Íñigo López de Oñaz y Loyola; – 31 July 1556), venerated as Saint Ignatius of Loyola, was a Basques, Basque Spaniard Priesthood in the Catholic Church, Catholic priest and theologian, who, with six compa ...
. It is part of the international network of Jesuit schools that began in
Messina
Messina ( , ; ; ; ) is a harbour city and the capital city, capital of the Italian Metropolitan City of Messina. It is the third largest city on the island of Sicily, and the 13th largest city in Italy, with a population of 216,918 inhabitants ...
, Sicily in 1548. Saint Ignatius' College has a non-selective enrolment policy and currently caters for approximately 1,560 students from Years 5 to 12, including 335 boarders in Years 6 to 12.
The College is a member of the Association of Heads of Independent Schools of Australia (AHISA),
the
Junior School Heads Association of Australia
The Independent Primary School Heads of Australia (IPSHA) formerly Junior School Heads Association of Australia (JSHAA), is an incorporated body representing the heads of independent primary schools in Australia.
Officially established in Septem ...
(JSHAA),
the Australian Boarding Schools' Association,
and is a founding member of the
(AAGPS).
Numerous leading contributors to Australian politics, arts, law, religion and sport were educated at Riverview. Notable alumni include former
Prime Minister of Australia
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 Australian Government, federal executive government. Under the pr ...
Tony Abbott
Anthony John Abbott (; born 4 November 1957) is an Australian former politician who served as the 28th prime minister of Australia from 2013 to 2015. He held office as the leader of the Liberal Party of Australia and was the member of parli ...
; former
Deputy Prime Minister of Australia
The deputy prime minister of Australia is the deputy Chief executive officer, chief executive and the Deputy prime minister, second highest ranking officer of the Australian Government. The office of deputy prime minister was officially creat ...
Barnaby Joyce
Barnaby Thomas Gerard Joyce (born 17 April 1967) is an Australian politician who was the leader of the National Party of Australia from 2016 to 2018 and again from 2021 to 2022. Joyce was the 17th deputy prime minister of Australia during both ...
; the current
Chief Justice of New South Wales
The Chief Justice of New South Wales is the senior judge of the Supreme Court of New South Wales and the highest-ranking judicial officer in the Australian state of New South Wales
New South Wales (commonly abbreviated as NSW) is a States a ...
,
Tom Bathurst
Thomas Frederick Bathurst (born 17 March 1948), is an England-born Australian jurist who served as Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of New South Wales from 1 June 2011 to 5 March 2022. He has served as Lieutenant-Governor of New South Wales ...
; the current
Archbishop of Sydney,
Anthony Fisher
Anthony Colin Fisher (born 10 March 1960) is an Australian prelate of the Catholic Church and a friar of the Order of Preachers (Dominicans). Since 12 November 2014, he has been the ninth Catholic Archbishop of Sydney. He served as the third ...
OP; former Premier of New South Wales
Nick Greiner
Nicholas Frank Hugo Greiner (; born 27 April 1947) is an Australian politician who served as the 37th Premier of New South Wales from 1988 to 1992. Greiner was Leader of the New South Wales Division of the Liberal Party from 1983 to 1992 and ...
; seventeen former
Wallabies
A wallaby () is a small or middle-sized macropod native to Australia and New Guinea, with introduced populations in New Zealand, Hawaii, the United Kingdom and other countries. They belong to the same taxonomic family as kangaroos and som ...
, nine Olympians and eight
Rhodes Scholar
The Rhodes Scholarship is an international Postgraduate education, postgraduate award for students to study at the University of Oxford in Oxford, United Kingdom. The scholarship is open to people from all backgrounds around the world.
Esta ...
s; as well as the first Australian-born astronaut,
Paul Scully-Power
Paul Desmond Scully-Power, AM GOSE FRAeS (born May 28, 1944) is an Australian-born American oceanographer, technology expert, business executive and astronaut. In 1984, while a civilian employee of the United States Naval Undersea Warfare Ce ...
, and numerous writers including poet
Christopher Brennan
Christopher John Brennan (1 November 1870 – 5 October 1932) was an Australian poet, scholar and literary critic.
Biography
Brennan was born in Haymarket, an inner suburb of Sydney, to Christopher Brennan (d. 1919), a brewer, and his wife ...
, art critic
Robert Hughes, and playwright
Nick Enright
Nicholas Paul Enright AM (22 December 1950 – 30 March 2003) was an Australian dramatist, playwright and theatre director.
Early life
Enright was born on 22 December 1950 to a prosperous professional Catholic family in East Maitland, New So ...
.
History
Following Archbishop
Roger William Bede Vaughan OSB's invitation to the Jesuits to come to Sydney, on condition that they open a boys' boarding school, and the bequest of Fr
John Joseph Therry
John Therry (1790 - 25 May 1864) was an Irish Roman Catholic priest in Sydney, Australia.
Early life
John Therry was born in Cork and was privately educated at St Patrick's College in Carlow. In 1815 he was ordained as a priest. He did parish ...
, who on his death in 1864 left the greater part of his property to the Society of Jesus,
Joseph Dalton SJ concluded arrangements for the purchase of the Riverview property on 28 June 1878. Dalton became founding rector of the college.
The first students were brought to the school as advertised in the Catholic newspaper ''The Express'', whereby boys aged between 8 and 12 would be received at Riverview "as soon as possible after the Christmas holidays". Classes commenced with two students on 11 February 1880, in a small stone
cottage
A cottage, during Feudalism in England, England's feudal period, was the holding by a cottager (known as a cotter or ''bordar'') of a small house with enough garden to feed a family and in return for the cottage, the cottager had to provide ...
on the Riverview estate.
The original cottage became very cramped with greater numbers and, to provide better accommodation,
St Michael
Michael, also called Saint Michael the Archangel, Archangel Michael and Saint Michael the Taxiarch is an archangel and the warrior of God in Christianity, Judaism, and Islam. The earliest surviving mentions of his name are in third- and second- ...
's House was built. The building was designed by W. W. Wardell and opened on the feast of Saint Michael, 29 September 1880. In 1882 a wooden boatshed was built for
rowing
Rowing is the act of propelling a human-powered watercraft using the sweeping motions of oars to displace water and generate reactional propulsion. Rowing is functionally similar to paddling, but rowing requires oars to be mechanically a ...
and in 1883 the
infirmary
Infirmary may refer to:
*Historically, a hospital, especially a small hospital
*A first aid room in a school, prison, or other institution
*A dispensary (an office that dispenses medications)
*A clinic
A clinic (or outpatient clinic or ambul ...
took shape.
In its early years the college offered classical and
modern languages
A modern language is any human language that is currently in use as a native language. The term is used in language education to distinguish between languages which are used for day-to-day communication (such as French and German) and dead clas ...
, history, mathematics, the
natural sciences
Natural science or empirical science is one of the branches of science concerned with the description, understanding and prediction of natural phenomena, based on empirical evidence from observation and experimentation. Mechanisms such as peer ...
and all other branches required for the civil service, the junior, senior and
matriculation
Matriculation is the formal process of entering a university, or of becoming eligible to enter by fulfilling certain academic requirements such as a matriculation examination.
Australia
In Australia, the term ''matriculation'' is seldom used no ...
examinations, along with modern mercantile subjects.

By December 1882, with an enrolment of only 70 boys, the college extended the curriculum to include English composition, writing, music, singing, drawing, painting,
Irish history
The first evidence of human presence in Ireland dates to around 34,000 years ago, with further findings dating the presence of ''Homo sapiens'' to around 10,500 to 7,000 BC. The receding of the ice after the Younger Dryas cold phase of the Qua ...
and oral
Latin
Latin ( or ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic languages, Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally spoken by the Latins (Italic tribe), Latins in Latium (now known as Lazio), the lower Tiber area aroun ...
.
Lessons were taught six days a week. Prayers began the day at 6.15 am, followed by
Mass
Mass is an Intrinsic and extrinsic properties, intrinsic property of a physical body, body. It was traditionally believed to be related to the physical quantity, quantity of matter in a body, until the discovery of the atom and particle physi ...
and study before breakfast at 8.30 am and concluded with night prayers at 8.30 pm. On Sundays and holidays the boys were allowed to sleep in until 6.30 am.
Within seven years of its founding, keen observers were taking notice. In 1887, James Francis Hogan wrote in ''The Irish in Australia'' that:
" St. John's College, affiliated to the University of Sydney
The University of Sydney (USYD) is a public university, public research university in Sydney, Australia. Founded in 1850, it is the oldest university in both Australia and Oceania. One of Australia's six sandstone universities, it was one of the ...
; St. Ignatius' College, Riverview, conducted by the Jesuit Fathers; and St. Joseph's College, Hunter Hill , under the management of the Marist Fathers 'sic'', actually the Marist Brothers">Marist_Brothers.html" ;"title="'sic'', actually the Marist Brothers">'sic'', actually the Marist Brothers are three educational institutions that reflect the highest credit on the Catholic population of the parent colony".[Hogan, James Francis, ]
The Irish in Australia
', 1887. Reproduced by Project Gutenberg (retrieved 15 June 2006).
The main building of the college was constructed in three stages between 1885 and 1930 and the foundation stone was laid by Cardinal Moran, Archbishop of Sydney, on 15 December 1885.
As originally designed by Gilbert, Dennehy and Tappin, of
Ballarat
Ballarat ( ) () is a city in the Central Highlands of Victoria, Australia. At the 2021 census, Ballarat had a population of 111,973, making it the third-largest urban inland city in Australia and the third-largest city in Victoria.
Within mo ...
, the building was to be a huge square, representing four identical fronts, but only the South front was completed according to plan due to financial constraints.

The Riverview College Observatory was built in 1909, and was established by the distinguished Jesuit astronomer and seismologist,
Edward Francis Pigot (1858–1929), who ordered a complete set of seismographs from Göttingen.
Daniel O'Connell was director of the Observatory from 1938 and was later called to be director of the
Vatican Observatory
The Vatican Observatory () is an astronomical research and educational institution supported by the Holy See. Originally based in the Roman College of Rome, the Observatory is now headquartered in Castel Gandolfo, Italy and operates a telescope a ...
. Another distinguished Jesuit seismologist and astronomer, Thomas Burke-Gaffney, became assistant-director of the Observatory in 1946 and director from 1952. His studies of seismic aspects of nuclear explosions garnered worldwide attention and he served as vice-president of the
Royal Society of New South Wales
The Royal Society of New South Wales is a learned society based in Sydney, Australia. The Governor of New South Wales is the vice-regal patron of the Society. It is the oldest learned society in the Southern Hemisphere.
The Society traces its ...
.
The Dalton Memorial Chapel was also built in 1909. The organ in the chapel was built in 1910 at a cost of £460 by Charles Richardson and installed in 1911. By the 1970s the organ was becoming unreliable and the college organist at the time, Peter Meyer, contracted Arthur Jones to rebuild it in 1976.
[St Ignatius' College Chapel]
, Sydney Organ, (retrieved 22 October 2006).
Although the first dayboys were not officially admitted until 1923, there was a small group of pupils who were permitted to attend the college as dayboys. In fact, up until the 1960s dayboys remained relatively small in number and Riverview was mainly for boarders.
In the lead up to the 2003
Iraq War
The Iraq War (), also referred to as the Second Gulf War, was a prolonged conflict in Iraq lasting from 2003 to 2011. It began with 2003 invasion of Iraq, the invasion by a Multi-National Force – Iraq, United States-led coalition, which ...
, the three school captains wrote a letter to the Prime Minister of Australia,
John Howard
John Winston Howard (born 26 July 1939) is an Australian former politician who served as the 25th prime minister of Australia from 1996 to 2007. He held office as leader of the Liberal Party of Australia. His eleven-year tenure as prime min ...
, calling for a withdrawal of
Australian troops from the
Persian Gulf
The Persian Gulf, sometimes called the Arabian Gulf, is a Mediterranean seas, mediterranean sea in West Asia. The body of water is an extension of the Arabian Sea and the larger Indian Ocean located between Iran and the Arabian Peninsula.Un ...
and for a non-military solution. They told Howard a poll of 574 students at the college showed 75 per cent were against Australian military participation in Iraq, regardless of the
United Nations
The United Nations (UN) is the Earth, global intergovernmental organization established by the signing of the Charter of the United Nations, UN Charter on 26 June 1945 with the stated purpose of maintaining international peace and internationa ...
’ position.
During February 2005, students sang for
Pope John Paul II
Pope John Paul II (born Karol Józef Wojtyła; 18 May 19202 April 2005) was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 16 October 1978 until Death and funeral of Pope John Paul II, his death in 2005.
In his you ...
outside his hospital in
Rome
Rome (Italian language, Italian and , ) is the capital city and most populated (municipality) of Italy. It is also the administrative centre of the Lazio Regions of Italy, region and of the Metropolitan City of Rome. A special named with 2, ...
as part of the 2005 Pilgrimage of Hope. The students had previously met the
Anglican
Anglicanism, also known as Episcopalianism in some countries, is a Western Christianity, Western Christian tradition which developed from the practices, liturgy, and identity of the Church of England following the English Reformation, in the ...
Archbishop of Canterbury
The archbishop of Canterbury is the senior bishop and a principal leader of the Church of England, the Primus inter pares, ceremonial head of the worldwide Anglican Communion and the bishop of the diocese of Canterbury. The first archbishop ...
,
Rowan Williams
Rowan Douglas Williams, Baron Williams of Oystermouth (born 14 June 1950) is a Welsh Anglican bishop, theologian and poet, who served as the 104th Archbishop of Canterbury from 2002 to 2012. Previously the Bishop of Monmouth and Archbishop of W ...
, meditated in
Assisi
Assisi (, also ; ; from ; Central Italian: ''Ascesi'') is a town and comune of Italy in the Province of Perugia in the Umbria region, on the western flank of Monte Subasio.
It is generally regarded as the birthplace of the Latin poet Prope ...
and worked the streets and orphanages of
Calcutta
Kolkata, also known as Calcutta (List of renamed places in India#West Bengal, its official name until 2001), is the capital and largest city of the Indian States and union territories of India, state of West Bengal. It lies on the eastern ba ...
with
Mother Teresa
Mary Teresa Bojaxhiu (born Anjezë Gonxhe Bojaxhiu, ; 26 August 1910 – 5 September 1997), better known as Mother Teresa or Saint Mother Teresa, was an Albanian-Indian Catholic Church, Roman Catholic nun, founder of the Missionaries of ...
's
Missionaries of Charity
The Missionaries of Charity () is a Catholic centralised religious institute of consecrated life of Pontifical Right for women
established in 1950 by Mother Teresa, now known in the Catholic Church as Saint Teresa of Calcutta. , it consisted o ...
.
Motto
The school
motto
A motto (derived from the Latin language, Latin , 'mutter', by way of Italian language, Italian , 'word' or 'sentence') is a Sentence (linguistics), sentence or phrase expressing a belief or purpose, or the general motivation or intention of a ...
, ''Quantum Potes Tantum Aude'' ("Dare as much as you can, for God and for Man"), was introduced by the rector-headmaster, Thomas Gartlan SJ, in 1906. ''Quantum Potes Tantum Aude'' is now formally translated from
Latin
Latin ( or ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic languages, Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally spoken by the Latins (Italic tribe), Latins in Latium (now known as Lazio), the lower Tiber area aroun ...
as "As much as you can do, so much dare to do", seen to best reflect the Latin, replacing the former "Dare to do your Best". The motto is taken from a song of
Saint
In Christianity, Christian belief, a saint is a person who is recognized as having an exceptional degree of sanctification in Christianity, holiness, imitation of God, likeness, or closeness to God in Christianity, God. However, the use of the ...
Thomas Aquinas
Thomas Aquinas ( ; ; – 7 March 1274) was an Italian Dominican Order, Dominican friar and Catholic priest, priest, the foremost Scholasticism, Scholastic thinker, as well as one of the most influential philosophers and theologians in the W ...
(1227–1274) entitled ''Lauda Sion Salvatorem''
[Aquinas, Thomas, ]
Lauda Sion Salvatorem
', Latin and English translation (retrieved 6 June 2006). ('Praise, O Sion, Praise Thy Saviour'). The next line after ''Quantum Potes Tantum Aude'' is ''Quia Maior Omni Laude'', which, together, translates to "As much as you can do, so much dare to do, because He is above all praise".
[Raper, Mark, ]
125th Anniversary St Ignatius Day Mass 2005 Homily
'', St Mary's Cathedral, Sydney
The Cathedral Church and Minor Basilica of the Immaculate Mother of God, Help of Christians, locally known as Saint Mary's Cathedral, is a Catholic basilica and the seat of the Archdiocese of Sydney. The cathedral is dedicated to the Blessed Vi ...
, 31 July 2005 (retrieved 6 June 2006).
Traditions
It is a longstanding practice for students, particularly in the lower years of the college, to write "
A.M.D.G" in the top left-hand corner of any piece of work they do. This stands for "''Ad Maiorem Dei Gloriam"'' which means "To the Greater Glory of God": a central theme of
Jesuit
The Society of Jesus (; abbreviation: S.J. or SJ), also known as the Jesuit Order or the Jesuits ( ; ), is a religious order (Catholic), religious order of clerics regular of pontifical right for men in the Catholic Church headquartered in Rom ...
spirituality. Traditionally, at the end of a piece of work they wrote "L.D.S." in the center of the page, a practice which is no longer widespread. This stands for "''Laus Deo Semper"'' which means "Praise to God Always", another traditional Jesuit motto. The college song is "Ignatius Teach Us to Know".
Jesuit education
A former Society of Jesus Superior General,
Peter Hans Kolvenbach
Peter Hans Kolvenbach (30 November 1928 – 26 November 2016) was a Dutch Catholic priest and professor who was the 29th superior general of the Society of Jesus from 1983 to 2008.
Early years
Kolvenbach was born and grew up in Druten, near Ni ...
, wrote in ''The Characteristics of Jesuit Education'' that the "ideal is the well-rounded person who is intellectually competent, open to growth, religious, loving and committed to doing
justice
In its broadest sense, justice is the idea that individuals should be treated fairly. According to the ''Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy'', the most plausible candidate for a core definition comes from the ''Institutes (Justinian), Inst ...
in generosity to the people of God".
[Kolvenbach, Peter Hans, ''The Characteristics of Jesuit Education'', 1986.]
Riverview's Jesuit partner schools include
St Aloysius' College in Sydney,
Saint Ignatius' College, Adelaide
Saint Ignatius' College is an independent Catholic pre-school, primary and secondary day school for boys and girls, located in Adelaide, South Australia. The school is part of the international network of Jesuit schools which began in Messina, ...
,
Xavier College
Xavier College is a Roman Catholic, day and boarding school predominantly for boys, founded in 1872 by the Society of Jesus, with its main campus located in Kew, an eastern suburb of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. Classes started in 1878.
The ...
in
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 ...
,
Loyola College, Mount Druitt
CathWest Innovation College is an independent Roman Catholic comprehensive co-educational secondary day school for students in Year Ten, Year Eleven and Year Twelve, located on two campuses; Loyola Campus ( Mount Druitt), and McCarthy Campus ( ...
,
Clongowes Wood College
Clongowes Wood College SJ is a Catholic voluntary boarding school for boys near Clane, County Kildare, Ireland, founded by the Jesuits in 1814. It features prominently in James Joyce's semi-autobiographical novel '' A Portrait of the Artist ...
in County Kildare, Ireland,
Belvedere College
Belvedere College Society of Jesus, S.J. (sometimes St Francis Xavier's College) is a fee-paying voluntary secondary school for boys in Dublin, Ireland.
Formally established in 1832 at Hardwicke Street in north inner city Dublin, the school was ...
in County Dublin, Ireland and
Stonyhurst College
Stonyhurst College or Stonyhurst is a co-educational Catholic Public school (United Kingdom), public school providing education for boarding school, boarding and day school, day pupils, adhering to the Society of Jesus, Jesuit tradition. It is ...
in Lancashire, England.
[Raper, Mark, ]
The Characteristics of Jesuit Education in Australia – Mission, Governance and Directions
', 'Australian Province Education Ministry Conference', Anglesea, 27 April 2006 (retrieved 12 June 2006).
Co-curriculum

St Ignatius' College offers students the opportunity to participate in a number of co-curricular activities including:
*AT Thomas Advocacy Group, ATTAG ('ay-tag') formed in 2012 to increase the social awareness among students at the school. Named after an Indian Jesuit martyr who gave his life in defending the rights of the 'dalit' untouchables, this group effectively replaced the
Amnesty International Club (1980s–2007).
*
Debating
Debate is a process that involves formal discourse, discussion, and oral addresses on a particular topic or collection of topics, often with a moderator and an audience. In a debate, arguments are put forward for opposing viewpoints. Historica ...
and
Public speaking
Public speaking, is the practice of delivering speeches to a live audience. Throughout history, public speaking has held significant cultural, religious, and political importance, emphasizing the necessity of effective rhetorical skills. It all ...
: (1881–present) 35 GPS 1sts Premiership Winning Teams (since 1964), and 5 between 1920 and 1963,
["Saint Ignatius' College Diary (2011) pp. 197–200"] 22
Lawrence Campbell Oratory Winners since its institution in 1935, 12 Australian Schools Debating team members (some students for 2 years) (instituted 1972–present) and 31 NSW School Debating team members (instituted 1971–present) (some students for 2 years).
* St Ignatius' College also offers a range of co-curricular activities including music, drama, and
digital media
In mass communication, digital media is any media (communication), communication media that operates in conjunction with various encoded machine-readable data formats. Digital content can be created, viewed, distributed, modified, listened to, an ...
and photography.
Sport
*
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 Australian rules football playing field, oval field, often a modified ...
: (1880–1892 and 1984–present) In 2004, Riverview became the first GPS school to field an Australian Rules team in the under-18s division of the ''Sydney Football League''. Since entering the competition in 2004, Riverview has won two premierships, in 2005 and 2011. Since 2016, Riverview has moved to AFL Sydney's Independent Schools Competition (Composed of CAS and AAGPS schools), with the 1st XVIII winning the competition 5 times (2016, 2017, 2018, 2020, 2022) from a possible 6 opportunities (note 2021 was voided due to COVID-19 Pandemic). The First XVIII's 2022 premiership saw them crowned as the first-ever Independent Schools Competition champions, going through the regular season and the inaugural finals series undefeated defeating Newington in the Grand Final at Jubilee Stadium Kogarah 11.7–73 – 2.7–19.
* Basketball: Riverview have won the AAGPS title twice; in 1978, and most recently in 2019, breaking a 41-year premiership drought. The 1st V have also come second several times since 2000. In 2013 Riverview won the Raschke Cup, played at Newington College. The 2015/16 season was a notable successful season in the school's First Grade history, coming first in the All Australian Jesuit Cup, winning the Raschke Cup and coming third in the Sydney Schools Shootout. The 2018/19 season has been the most successful in the basketball program's history, with the team breaking the 41-year premiership drought in the Firsts competition, winning the GPS title. The 2019 First V also won the Raschke Cup (beating
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 ...
in the final of the new tournament format 86–59), Division 1 Sydney Shootout and the Division 1
National Championship
A national championship(s) is the top achievement for any sport or competition, contest within a league of a particular nation or nation state. The title is usually awarded by contests, ranking systems, stature, ability, etc. This determines the be ...
(held in Melbourne). The team was also crowned NSW Champion School for the first time in the program's history, defeating Westfield Sports High and Hunter Sports High, with 2nd V, also completing a three-peat of GPS championships.
*
Rowing
Rowing is the act of propelling a human-powered watercraft using the sweeping motions of oars to displace water and generate reactional propulsion. Rowing is functionally similar to paddling, but rowing requires oars to be mechanically a ...
: Riverview was the second Sydney school to take to the water (after
Sydney Grammar) and has a strong rowing tradition. Under Father Thomas Gartlan SJ, the school established a rowing program in 1882 at a time when there were only a handful of senior rowing clubs in existence on Sydney Harbour and its reaches. The
Riverview Gold Cup regatta was inaugurated in 1885, is one of the oldest continuing regattas in Australia, and has been a key fixture of the Sydney rowing calendar for senior and school oarsmen ever since. The year 1997 was the first year Riverview 1st VIII won the Gold Cup Regatta (Open Men's Eights) this crew was stroked by Olympian Daniel Noonan. The school's boatshed joined the New South Wales Rowing Association in 1889. The facilities are on the
Lane Cove River
The Lane Cove River, a northern tributary of the Parramatta River, is a tide-dominated, drowned valley estuary west of Sydney Harbour, located in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. The river winds through a bushland valley and joins Parramatt ...
with Riverview the only school in Sydney whose boatshed and pontoon are on the main school campus.
*
Rugby union
Rugby union football, commonly known simply as rugby union in English-speaking countries and rugby 15/XV in non-English-speaking world, Anglophone Europe, or often just rugby, is a Contact sport#Terminology, close-contact team sport that orig ...
: Rugby union has been the major winter sport at Riverview since 1892. Riverview has always fielded formidable rugby sides with the sport ingrained in the robust culture of the school. Sport is compulsory at Riverview, until the 1980s rugby was the only winter sport offered. To this day, the 3rd, 2nd and 1st XV are strongly supported by the students with "War Cries" at each game. 17 Wallabies have attended Riverview so far, the first was Ignatius O’Donnell to run on against the British Isles at the SCG in 1899, he was Wallaby No. 29. The 1st XV are awarded distinctive wide Royal Blue and White striped jersey (referred to as "wide stripes"), just prior the first official GPS game at a full school assembly. These jerseys stand out from other school jerseys and are well respected by the students.
*
Surf Lifesaving
Surf lifesaving is a multifaceted social movement that comprises key aspects of voluntary lifeguard services and competitive surf sport. Originating in early 20th century Australia, the movement has expanded globally to other countries, in ...
: (1987–present) Riverview commenced active participation in lifesaving as a sport in the 1986–1987 summer season.
*Tennis: Riverview has a storied history in AAGPS Tennis, with 11 Firsts premierships and 16 Seconds premierships. Notably, the College won 5 Firsts premierships in a row between 1998–2002, and 13 Seconds premierships in 14 years between 1994–2007.
*
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), competitio ...
* Baseball
*
Cricket
Cricket is a Bat-and-ball games, bat-and-ball game played between two Sports team, teams of eleven players on a cricket field, field, at the centre of which is a cricket pitch, pitch with a wicket at each end, each comprising two Bail (cr ...
*
Cross country
*
Fencing
Fencing is a combat sport that features sword fighting. It consists of three primary disciplines: Foil (fencing), foil, épée, and Sabre (fencing), sabre (also spelled ''saber''), each with its own blade and set of rules. Most competitive fe ...
*
Futsal
Futsal is a variant of association football played between two teams of five players each on a court smaller than a football pitch. Its rules are based on the Laws of the Game (association football), Laws of the Game of association football, and i ...
* Golf
* Martial arts
*
Mountain biking
Mountain biking (MTB) is a sport of riding bicycles off-road, often over rough terrain, usually using specially designed mountain bikes. Mountain bikes share similarities with other bikes but incorporate features designed to enhance durability ...
*
Sailing
Sailing employs the wind—acting on sails, wingsails or kites—to propel a craft on the surface of the ''water'' (sailing ship, sailboat, raft, Windsurfing, windsurfer, or Kitesurfing, kitesurfer), on ''ice'' (iceboat) or on ''land'' (Land sa ...
*
Rifle Club and
Cadets
A cadet is a student or trainee within various organisations, primarily in military contexts where individuals undergo training to become commissioned officers. However, several civilian organisations, including civil aviation groups, maritime o ...
: (1885–1974)
* Swimming
* Table tennis
* Volleyball
*
Water polo
Water polo is a competitive sport, competitive team sport played in water between two teams of seven players each. The game consists of four quarters in which the teams attempt to score goals by throwing the water polo ball, ball into the oppo ...
House system
The
House system
The house system is a traditional feature of schools in the United Kingdom. The practice has since spread to Commonwealth of Nations, Commonwealth countries. The school is divided into units called "houses" and each student is allocated to on ...
was established in 1983 with the aim of improving the quality of care for students. There are sixteen Houses, each consisting of approximately 85 boys from Years 7–12, with a Housemaster and five tutors in each House. Housemasters are concerned with the academic and pastoral development of boys under their care. In so doing, the House System at Riverview aims to develop the "well-rounded person", as
Peter Hans Kolvenbach
Peter Hans Kolvenbach (30 November 1928 – 26 November 2016) was a Dutch Catholic priest and professor who was the 29th superior general of the Society of Jesus from 1983 to 2008.
Early years
Kolvenbach was born and grew up in Druten, near Ni ...
SJ emphasised in the ''Characteristics of Jesuit Education'':
"In a Jesuit School the atmosphere is one in which all can live and work together in understanding and love, with respect for all men and women as Children of God. Jesuit Education insists on individual care and concern for each person...''Cura Personalis'' (concern for the individual person) remains a basic characteristic of Jesuit Education".
From an initial eight Houses in 1983, four more were added in 1997 and another four were added in 2014 to reflect the growth in the student population.
Each House is divided into five mentor groups made up of students from Years 7 to 12. Approximately three students from each of these year groups are in every mentor group, led by a senior teacher. Mentor Groups meet after recess every day for 12 minutes.
Boarding
With a boarding student population of 335,
[Alt URL]
/ref> Riverview is one of the largest boarding schools in New South Wales
New South Wales (commonly abbreviated as NSW) is a States and territories of Australia, state on the Eastern states of Australia, east coast of :Australia. It borders Queensland to the north, Victoria (state), Victoria to the south, and South ...
. Boarders are spread across 3 boarding houses on the College Campuses, including Fr Charles Fraser House (holding Years 6–8), St Johns House (Years 9–10) and Kevin Fagan House (Years 11–12). Officially a boarding-only school until the 1920s, the Day Boys remained a small minority until the late 1960s. The College now has a majority of day-boys.
Old Ignatian Union
Established in 1897, the alumni association
An alumni association or alumnae association is an association of graduates or, more broadly, of former students ( alumni). In the United Kingdom and the United States, alumni of universities, colleges, school
A school is the educati ...
of Saint Ignatius' College is named the Old Ignatians' Union or OIU, and has a mission to "sustain and strengthen the connection between Old Ignatians and to further the interests of the College."["Old Ignatians Union Homepage"](_blank)
— (retrieved 21 June 2006). Reunions and fundraisers are held to help the Development Office fundraise bursaries
A bursary is a monetary award made by any educational institution or funding authority to individuals or groups. It is usually awarded to enable a student to attend school, university or college when they might not be able to, otherwise. Some awar ...
. Old Boys also partake in sporting competitions through such institutions as the Old Ignatians Rugby Club.["Old Ignatians Rugby Club"](_blank)
— (retrieved 21 June 2006).
Notable alumni
Alumnus
Alumni (: alumnus () or alumna ()) are former students or graduates of a school, college, or university. The feminine plural alumnae is sometimes used for groups of women, and alums (: alum) or alumns (: alumn) as gender-neutral alternatives. Th ...
of Saint Ignatius' College are known as Old Ignatians. For a list of notable Old Ignatians, see List of Riverview Old Ignatians.
Gallery
SICRFromNorthEast.JPG, Wallace Wing, Main Building, Middle School from First Field
SICRStatueofStIgnatiusUpright.JPG, AMDG: Statue of St Ignatius below Ramsay Hall
Main Building, St Ignatius College Riverview.jpg, Statue of the Sacred Heart
The Most Sacred Heart of Jesus () is one of the most widely practised and well-known Catholic devotions, wherein the heart of Jesus Christ is viewed as a symbol of "God's boundless and passionate love for mankind". This devotion to Christ is p ...
in Rose Garden; Main Building
Riverview college sydney.JPG, Main Building 2009, St Ignatius' College
Riverview St Ignatius College 2.JPG, Main Building, St Ignatius' College
SICRAwayStandKFHouse.JPG, Kevin Fagan House behind First Field's Away Grandstand
SICRfromFirstFieldSunset.JPG, College from First Field
SICRObservatory.JPG, College Observatory
See also
* List of Catholic schools in New South Wales
Below is list of Catholic schools in the state of New South Wales. It is correct as of June 2023.
Systemic primary schools
Catholic high and K–12 schools
Special schools
See also
{{stack, {{portal, New South Wales, Schools, Catho ...
* Catholic education in Australia
Catholic education in Australia refers to the education services provided by the Catholic Church in Australia within the Australian education system. From 18th century foundations, the Catholic education system has grown to be the second bigges ...
* List of boarding schools in Australia
The following are notable boarding schools in Australia. There are 189 boarding schools in Australia.
Australian Capital Territory
* Canberra Girls Grammar School, Deakin
*Canberra Grammar School, Red Hill
New South Wales
Former boarding sc ...
* Lawrence Campbell Oratory Competition
The Lawrence Campbell Oratory Competition is an annual competition in impromptu public speaking between representatives of each of the Great Public Schools (GPS) and Combined Associated Schools (CAS) in New South Wales, Australia. It was establi ...
* Old Ignatians' Rugby Football Club
The Old Ignatians' Rugby Football Club was a rugby union club based in Sydney, Australia that merged with neighbouring
Subbies club Lane Cove in 2024 to form the Lane Cove Old Ignatians.
History
The Old Ignatians' Rugby Football Club was foun ...
* List of Jesuit sites
This list includes past and present buildings, facilities and institutions associated with the Society of Jesus. In each country, sites are listed in chronological order of start of Jesuit association.
Nearly all these sites have be ...
References
External links
*
{{Authority control
Educational institutions established in 1880
Catholic secondary schools in Sydney
Boarding schools in New South Wales
Jesuit secondary schools in Australia
Catholic primary schools in Sydney
Boys' schools in New South Wales
Catholic boarding schools in Australia
Junior School Heads Association of Australia Member Schools
1880 establishments in Australia
Lane Cove, New South Wales
Athletic Association of the Great Public Schools of New South Wales
Jesuit primary schools in Australia