History:
Aquinas College is a Catholic Regional College of the Archdiocese of 吃瓜不打烊, established to provide Secondary Education for Catholic boys and girls residing in the parishes of the Eastern region of 吃瓜不打烊, centred particularly on the Maroondah Deanery.
Aquinas Boys' College was established in 1961 to provide Catholic education for boys residing within the Parish boundaries of Mitcham, Ringwood, Ringwood North, Croydon, Park Orchards/Warrandyte, Mooroolbark, Bayswater, Boronia and Scoresby and was administered by the Christian Brothers. The first enrolment year saw 130 boys in Forms 1 and 2. Aquinas Girls' College became a reality in 1967 when 84 girls commenced Form 1 under leadership from religious Sisters from the Dominican and Josephite Orders. From 1979, the two Colleges combined under lay administration to become a co-educational school. Three sub schools were established, Junior Boys (Form 1-4), Junior Girls (Form 1-4) and Senior Co-educational (Form 5 & 6). All classes within the College became fully co-educational in 1992.
Description:
Aquinas College endeavours to be a dynamic and innovative learning community, striving to create an environment to meet the diverse needs of all students.
Inspired by Gospel values and mindful of our Catholic Identity, our Vision is to ignite the fire of learning and shine as a beacon of excellence, hope and love in the world. Our motto is 'Illuminare et Ardere'.
Our Mission is to promote quality education while developing an awareness of God in our lives, the value and connectedness of all human relationships, a sense of justice, a hopeful spirit and a love of learning.
Aquinas College proclaims our Mission by embracing six core values: Spirituality, Belonging, Perseverance, Compassion, Stewardship and Justice.
Set on 16 beautiful hectares, Aquinas accommodates over 1700 students. Years 7, 8 and 9 are organised as Middle Years around the Victorian Curriculum while Years 10, 11 and 12 operate as the Senior Years with pathways including the Victorian Certificate of Education (VCE), Victorian Certificate of Applied Learning (VCAL), and a broad scope of Vocational Education and Training (VET) Certificates.
Learning spaces have been designed to enhance visibility, enable collaboration and yet still offer acoustic separation if required. Sporting fields, gymnasium, 300-seat theatre, Youth and Family Centre and an industry standard Hospitality Trade Training Centre are just some of the features of our expansive College.
Features:
As a large school, Aquinas is able to offer a diverse and extensive curriculum and endeavours to find a pathway that meets the needs of every student.
If a student grows as a person, they will also grow as a learner. Our Mission requires us to develop learning through spirituality, fairness, connectedness, optimism and enjoyment. This is done inside the curriculum, but it is enhanced by a successful co-curricular program that values all students, their interests and their gifts. Aquinas has a comprehensive co-curriculum program that encourages involvement, leadership, community spirit, physical engagement, artistic endeavour, teamwork and social justice.
Programs and activities exist to enhance learning for gifted students through a combination of ability groupings, acceleration and individual learning programs. Programs also exist to support students in need with a similar range of strategies.
Arts, Music and Performance, Sport, Community Involvement, participation in Study Tours and Student Leadership are all key factors in engaging and connecting students to our College and to their learning.