Emmanuel College, Melbourne


Emmanuel College, formerly St. Paul's College, is a dual-campus private Roman Catholic comprehensive co-educational secondary day school, occupying campuses in Altona North and Point Cook, in the south-western suburbs of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia.
WWW ecmelb.catholic.edu.au

History

Establishment

St. Paul's Campus was originally established as 'St. Paul's College' in 1965, under the auspices of the American Order of the Society of Marianists. The order had been invited to establish this Catholic Secondary Boys' College by the then Archbishop of Melbourne, Daniel Mannix. The college's colours were then red, white and blue and its motto was Ecce Mater Tua.
In 2008, the school opened a second campus at Point Cook called Notre Dame.

Building construction

St Pauls campus

In the early 1960s, the local parish priests purchased a large, 9-hectare, undeveloped block in Altona North. The parents of the school's initial students helped to build and landscape the school in the early years. The college's primary edifice, the three-storey building called the "Jubilee Building", was completed in 1969. Following to be completed were:
  • The Chaminade Library in 1971.
  • The Art/Craft/Science Lab and the senior classrooms known as the "Winters Building" in 1979.
  • The administrative complex and gymnasium in 1982.
The Jubilee Building was extensively renovated in 1998. In 2004, with the assistance of a Commonwealth Government grant, work commenced on enlarging the library complex and the building of two new computer labs. These developments were completed in 2005. In 2009–2010 three more developments were in place. These were the expansion of the Technology Building, construction of a new canteen, gym, changing rooms and toilets and the new McMahon Language Centre. These projects were funded by the National Building Stimulus Grant.

Notre Dame campus

Construction of the Notre Dame Campus in Point Cook commenced in mid-2007, with campus opening in 2008. The initial intake was restricted to year seven students, with construction continuing as further year levels commenced. The first group of year 12 students graduated from the Notre Dame campus in 2013.

Transition to Emmanuel College

In 2006, the plans for the transition to Emmanuel College and the future of the school were commenced. 2008 saw the full transition from 'St. Paul's College' to 'Emmanuel College' with the acquisition of a second co-educational campus. The school eventually incorporated a new emblem and changed its motto to Life To The Full, which comes from the Gospel according to John: "I have come that they may have life and have it to the full".

Principal and current staff

Since 1997, the incumbent principal at the St. Paul's campus was Christopher Stock. In 2008 when the transition to Emmanuel College was complete, Stock became the principal of Emmanuel College with responsibility for the St. Paul's and the Notre Dame campuses until 2022, where Stock would retire after dedicating 26 years as Principal. He is the longest serving Principal in the history of Emmanuel College.
Since 2023, the current principal is Dr. Janine Biggin who "strives for excellence as a Catholic educator and school leader."

House and homeroom system

The Emmanuel College house system consists of five houses:
  • McCoy
  • Cassidy
  • McCluskey
  • Winters
  • Chaminade
These houses are named after the Marianists that initially helped serve and found the school, and Father John Cassidy of St Mary's Parish, Williamstown, who was involved in the establishment of the college. The exception is Chaminade, which is named after William Chaminade, the founder of The Marianist order. Both the St Paul's and Notre Dame campuses have homerooms with about 25–30 students, ranging from years 7–12.
Prior to this, the previous St. Paul's College had four houses named after sporting athletes:
  • Fraser
  • Laver
  • Elliott
  • Bradman

Victorian Certificate of Education (VCE)

Emmanuel College has offered the VCE program at the St. Paul's Campus since its implementation in 1990. The school tends to perform well in the VCE, with a student achieving an ATAR score of 99.15 in 2019, the highest ATAR of the school thus far.

Sport

Emmanuel is a member of the Sports Association of Catholic Co-educational Secondary Schools and the Associated Catholic Colleges.

ACC premierships

Emmanuel has won the following ACC premierships.
  • Golf – 2021
  • Soccer – 2010, 2014
  • Senior Cricket 2025
  • Senior Tennis 2025

Notable alumni