St Mary's Cathedral College (SMCC) is a systemic coeducational

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

for students, located in the

central business district A central business district (CBD) is the Commerce, commercial and business center of a city. It contains commercial space and offices, and in larger cities will often be described as a financial district. Geographically, it often coincides wit ...

Sydney Sydney is the capital city of the States and territories of Australia, state of New South Wales and the List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city in Australia. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Syd ...

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 ...

, Australia. Founded in 1824, it is among the oldest schools in the country, currently catering for approximately 830 students from

Kindergarten Kindergarten is a preschool educational approach based on playing, singing, practical activities such as drawing, and social interaction as part of the transition from home to school. Such institutions were originally made in the late 18th cen ...

Year 12 Year 12 is an educational year group in schools in many countries including England, Wales, Northern Ireland, Australia and New Zealand. It is sometimes the twelfth or thirteenth year of compulsory education, or alternatively a year of post-comp ...

. The college is administered by Sydney Catholic Schools of the Archdiocese of Sydney and operates as a systemic school; it is attached to St Mary's Cathedral. It serves as the

choir school This article contains a list of choir schools sorted alphabetically by country. Australia *St Andrew's Cathedral School, Sydney *St Mary's Cathedral College, Sydney, St Mary's Cathedral College, Sydney *Xavier High School, Albury, NSW *St John's ...

for the cathedral, and the choristers of St Mary's Cathedral Choir are drawn from the college. From 1910 until 2016 the college was the responsibility of the

Congregation of Christian Brothers The Congregation of Christian Brothers (; abbreviated CFC) is a worldwide religious community within the Catholic Church, founded by Edmund Ignatius Rice, Edmund Rice. Their first school opened in Waterford, Ireland in 1802. At the time of its ...

and was latterly administered via Edmund Rice Education Australia. It was the last school in Sydney to be served by Christian Brothers as both principal and deputy principal.

History

St Mary's Cathedral College was established in 1824 as an elementary school by the Rev.

John 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 ...

. The high school was established in 1828. The school was conducted by the Christian Brothers and is administered by Sydney Catholic Schools, Eastern Region. The Christian Brothers association with the school dates back to 1911. Catholic education on the same site as St Mary's Cathedral has been continuous since 1824, except during the construction of the existing college buildings and the associated bishop's quarters (1987–1991). Schools on the site have been provided with staff by the

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monks (1824–1882), the

Marist Brothers The Marist Brothers of the Schools, commonly known as simply the Marist Brothers, is an international community of Catholic Church, Catholic religious institute of Religious brother, brothers. In 1817, Marcellin Champagnat, a Marist priest from Fr ...

(1883–1910),

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(1883–1967) and the Christian Brothers from 1910.St Mary's Cathedral College homepage
accessed 18 September 2014. The replacement of the Marist order by the Christian Brothers in 1911 was controversial. The Marist Brothers had complained to the Archbishop of Sydney, Cardinal Patrick Francis Moran, about their working and living conditions. The cardinal ordered them to leave the college. He directed the Christian Brothers (under threat of

interdict In Catholic canon law, an interdict () is an ecclesiastical censure, or ban that prohibits certain persons or groups from participating in particular rites, or that the rites and services of the church are prohibited in certain territories for ...

) to take over the college in their place, which they did. The cardinal then granted to the Christian Brothers the requests that the Marist Brothers had been denied. The College celebrated 100 years of Christian Brothers administration in 2011. Christian Brother administration of the college ended in 2016 after 105 years.

Co-curricular

The college supports a musical tradition, with close ties to the St Mary's Cathedral Choir, Sydney, and the cathedral liturgies. A music captain is voted in annually to support the music coordinator with music-related activities in the college. It also supports sporting sides in all representative Northeast Conference seasonal/gala day sports and carnivals. At the conclusion of 2021, it was announced by Sydney Catholic Schools that the CBSA (Christian Brothers Sports Association) which the college was involved in for several years would come to a close, creating a new Northeast Conference that the college competes in since 2022. Students at the college have the option to participate in

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 ...

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 ...

mock trial A mock trial is an act or imitation trial. It is similar to a moot court, but mock trials simulate lower-court trials, while moot court simulates appellate court hearings. Attorneys preparing for a real trial might use a mock trial consisti ...

, Duke of Edinburgh Award, and assisting at the Matthew Talbot Hostel in Woolloomooloo.

Principals

* Brother Michael Hoffman (1985–2000) * Brother David Standen (2000–2010) * Michael Kelleher (2016–2022) * Kerrie McDiarmid (2023–present)

Notable alumni

Anthony Albanese Anthony Norman Albanese ( or ; born 2 March 1963) is an Australian politician serving as the 31st and current prime minister of Australia since 2022. He has been the Leaders of the Australian Labor Party#Leader, leader of the Labor Party si ...

31st

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 ...

(2022–present), Leader of the

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and federal member for Grayndler * Sir Edward McTiernan longest serving Justice of the

High Court of Australia The High Court of Australia is the apex court of the Australian legal system. It exercises original and appellate jurisdiction on matters specified in the Constitution of Australia and supplementary legislation. The High Court was establi ...

; former

Attorney-General of New South Wales The attorney general of New South Wales, in formal contexts also attorney-general or attorney general for New South Wales See, e.g. Attorney General for New South Wales v Burns & Ors', ''Leahy v Attorney-General for New South Wales'' and ''Makin ...

; former Member of the

Australian House of Representatives The House of Representatives is the lower house of the bicameralism, bicameral Parliament of Australia, the upper house being the Australian Senate, Senate. Its composition and powers are set out in Chapter I of the Constitution of Australia. ...

* James Freeman

cardinal Cardinal or The Cardinal most commonly refers to * Cardinalidae, a family of North and South American birds **''Cardinalis'', genus of three species in the family Cardinalidae ***Northern cardinal, ''Cardinalis cardinalis'', the common cardinal of ...

; sixth Roman Catholic Archbishop of Sydney * James Griffinpolitician; Liberal Member for Manly * Kevin "Horrie" Hastings – former professional

rugby league Rugby league football, commonly known as rugby league in English-speaking countries and rugby 13/XIII in non-Anglophone Europe, is a contact sport, full-contact sport played by two teams of thirteen players on a rectangular Rugby league playin ...

footballer for the

Sydney Roosters Eastern Suburbs District Rugby League Football Club, known as the Sydney Roosters are an Australian professional rugby league football club based in Sydney's Eastern Suburbs (Sydney), Eastern Suburbs. The club competes in the National Rugby Lea ...

* Hugh Donald "Huge Deal" McIntosh – theatrical entrepreneur, sporting promoter and newspaper proprietor * Hunter Page-Lochardactor, known for '' Cleverman'' * Joe Reaicheformer professional rugby league footballer for the

Canterbury Bulldogs The Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs are an Australian professional rugby league club based in Belmore, a suburb in the Canterbury-Bankstown region of Sydney. They compete in the NRL Telstra Premiership, as well as competitions facilitated by ...

and

South Sydney Rabbitohs The South Sydney District Rugby League Football Club, also known as the South Sydney Rabbitohs, is an Australian professional rugby league football club based in the Sydney suburb of Maroubra, New South Wales, Maroubra that competes in the Nat ...

* Jerry Skotadismidfielder for the

Sutherland Sharks Sutherland Sharks FC is an Australian association football club based in the suburb of Sutherland in Sydney, New South Wales. The club currently competes in the National Premier Leagues NSW. Its home games are played at Seymour Shaw Park, loca ...

and formerly

Sydney FC Sydney Football Club, commonly known as Sydney FC, is a professional association football, soccer club based in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. They compete in the top-tier men's league in Australia, the A-League Men. Established in 2004, ...

* Peter Triantiscentral midfielder for the Sydney FC * Aaron Woodsprofessional rugby league footballer for the

Cronulla Sharks The Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks are an Australian professional rugby league club based in the Sutherland Shire of Southern Sydney, New South Wales. Cronulla compete in the National Rugby League (NRL), Australasia's premier rugby league compet ...

References

External links