Whitefriars College


Whitefriars College is a Roman Catholic Independent school for boys located in the Melbourne suburb of Donvale, Australia. Established in 1961, the college reflects the tradition of the Carmelites, and is recognised for its uniform's brown blazer with the college crest appearing on the breast pocket. The college has been a member of the Associated Catholic Colleges since 1999. The college was one of the first schools in Victoria to implement a notebook-computer program, which has now transitioned to a notebook-tablet program, in which every student is provided with a notebook-tablet.
WWW Official Site

House system

The college has eight houses, each one named after a Carmelite of note. The houses are:
House namePatronColour
AvilaTeresa of Avila
BrandsmaTitus Brandsma
CorsiniAndrew Corsini
LisieuxTherese of Lisieux
SteinEdith Stein
MantuaBaptista Mantuanus
SorethJohn Soreth
TrinityElizabeth of the Trinity

As there is a vertical pastoral care system at the college, each house is made up of six pastoral care groups and each group contains approximately 24 students. This change was made in 2005. Each house is governed by a Head of House. Unlike other schools, students at Whitefriars College are more so responsible to their respective Head of House combined with Pastoral Care teacher, than that of their Year level co-ordinator.

Curriculum

Whitefriars College offers its senior students the Victorian Certificate of Education.
YearRankMedian study scoreScores of 40+ Cohort size
2012843214.2308
2013140318.2289
2014136318.1299
2015135318.3336
2016148317.3316
2017184305.9289
2018198304.5307
2019122319.3275
2020146315.9271
2021128319.2274
2022150315.5266
2023963210262
2024175307238
2025145316.5217

50 years celebration

The college celebrated its 50th year in operation from 2010 to 2011. The school received a New Chapel, Quadrangle and Classrooms to commemorate the occasion. In addition to this, some existing classrooms were also renovated. Students were also presented with a 50-year badge to be worn on their blazer lapel.

Sport

Whitefriars is a member of the Associated Catholic Colleges.

ACC premierships

Whitefriars has won the following ACC premierships.
  • Basketball – 2001, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2019
  • Cricket – 2002, 2003, 2012, 2015, 2020
  • Football – 2004, 2005, 2013, 2014
  • Hockey – 2014, 2015, 2017
  • Swimming – 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2008, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017
  • Tennis – 2011, 2012, 2017, 2020, 2021, 2023

Community service

The school has two student-run community service organisations, the Key Club, sponsored by the Doncaster-Templestowe Kiwanis, and Young St. Vinnie's. Both groups work in the school community as well as in the wider community on a number of projects. The Key Club runs a recycling drive and St Vinnie's runs a weekly blood donation drive, in which VCE students are encouraged to give blood.

Notable alumni

Controversy

In 2019, Whitefriars reached a confidential settlement with a student relating to accusations that the school failed to take adequate action after an older student allegedly groomed and sexually abused at least two younger boys.
On May 5 2023, two Year 9 students were taken to Box Hill Hospital at 9am and 12:50pm respectively following allergic reactions to vapes laced with Cannabis and LSD.