Xavier College
Kostka Hall Campus: 47 South Road, Brighton
An International Baccalaureate World School
MAIN DETAILS
- Early Learning
- Primary School
- Secondary School
- Primary through Secondary
- Catholic
Early Years: 3-year-old Kindergarten to Year 4 (Co-Ed)
Middle Years: Year 5 to Year 8 (Boys)
Senior Years: Year 9 to Year 12 (Boys), including boarding
Boys
Boarding Available
- Academic Achievement
- Co-curricular Activities
- Community
- Creative Arts
- Faith / Religion
- Information Technology
- Languages
- Music
- Numeracy / Literacy
- Pastoral Care / Guidance
- Performing Arts
- Robotics
- Science/Technology
- Sport
- Tertiary Pathways
- Aerobics
- Australian Rules Football
- Alpine Sports
- Badminton
- Basketball
- Baseball
- Chess
- Cricket
- Cross Country Running
- Debating
- Diving
- Equestrian
- Golf
- Gymnastics
- Hockey (field)
- Lawn Bowls
- Netball
- Rowing
- Rugby League
- Sailing
- Soccer
- Swimming
- Table Tennis
- Tennis
- Triathlon
- Volleyball
At Xavier College, we educate students from 3-year-old Kindergarten all the way through to their Year 12 Valete celebrations. We have three campuses: Kostka Hall in Brighton, Burke Hall in Kew and Senior Campus, also in Kew.Â
Xavier College is a Catholic school founded in 1878 by the Society of Jesus (the Jesuits). It belongs to a worldwide network of over 2000 Jesuit educational institutions.
Our aim is excellence in education and the formation of reflective, compassionate and articulate men and women of Christian faith, hope and love who will provide outstanding service and leadership in our world.
About Us
Xavier College is a Catholic school founded by the Society of Jesus (the Jesuits). It belongs to a worldwide network of over 2000 Jesuit educational institutions.
A Jesuit education encourages the individual to develop his or her talents and fosters reflection so that the person’s heart, mind, body and spirit may become fully engaged to serve in the wider world.
Our aim is excellence in education and the formation of reflective, compassionate and articulate men and women of Christian faith, hope and love who will provide outstanding service and leadership in our world.
In the Middle Years, the curriculum is taught sequentially using an inquiry approach. The program gives students increased responsibility for their own learning and emphasises intellectual development, negotiation skills and peer support. It allows students to progress according to their differing rates of accomplishment. There are also programs in Mathematics and English to extend students in their learning.
The Learning Enhancement Program covers the individual needs of students during both the Early and Middle Years. It focuses on a spectrum of learning difficulties and gifted and talented programs, with support provided through consultations with a wide range of specialist staff and external professionals.
In the Senior Years, students are divided into ten Houses. From Year 9 onwards, each student is assigned a tutor to oversee both their academic progression and overall wellbeing. This tutor group system provides students with support, encouragement and a strong sense of community.
In Years 9 and 10, an extensive range of course options enable students to tailor their studies according to their emerging interests and talents. The curriculum is designed to increase students’ understanding of the disciplines they are considering for the Victorian Certificate of Education (VCE), so that they can make fully informed choices moving into their final years.
In Years 11 and 12, students can again choose from a very wide range of courses. Most commonly they undertake the VCE, but Vocational Education and Training (VET) units and some university studies are also offered. Xavier College’s academic results at VCE are always of the highest standard, reflecting the school’s commitment to excellence both in terms of teaching standards and expectations of students.
Xavier College is a high performing academic school and has been consistently ranked in the top 10% of secondary schools in the state. At VCE level, we offer 34 Unit 3 & 4 subjects.
Over the following century, Xavier College grew with two junior campuses; Burke Hall and Kostka Hall.
In 1920, Archbishop Mannix donated the house and land known as Studley Hall to Xavier College for use as a preparatory school. The property was then purchased and donated to Mannix by Mr T.M. Burke, a Catholic businessman. In 1921, Xavier Preparatory School opened and later renamed Burke Hall in 1926 in honour of Mr Burke.
The Kostka Hall location was opened in 1937 and was named in honour of St Stanislaus Kostka. To establish the second preparatory school, the Jesuits purchased two Brighton properties in mid-1936. Both were promptly remodelled to provide the facilities required for school life.
In recent years, extensive refurbishments, renovations and improvements have moulded the properties into the beautiful sites they are today.
A Jesuit education instils in students a lifelong love of learning. Our students are encouraged to seek the best for themselves through a continuing openness to growth in all areas of their lives: intellectual, spiritual, moral, aesthetic, physical and emotional.
All students have the opportunity to experience a full range of intellectual, creative and physical activities. They can help clarify career options and kindle passionate interests that will endure well beyond their school years.
All co-curricular activities are aimed at ensuring a student receives a well-rounded education at Xavier College.
Co-curricular activities are centred around the development of the whole person and the formation of character.
Sport plays a significant role in the life of a Xavier student and the College strongly supports the need for a healthy balance for our young men and women. The Sports Department provides a unique, participation-based, challenging and rewarding sporting program.
We offer over 29 different sports across our program.
Students are able to choose from a wide selection of strings, woodwind, brass and percussion instruments to learn and refine with the support of individual music lessons.
Across Xavier College’s three campuses, approximately 600 students are involved in the music program with 712 lessons being conducted every week of term.
61 music ensembles, including symphonies, orchestras, choirs and bands, provide opportunities for students to perform and grow as musicians together. A plethora of student performances occur throughout the College, including Xavier in Concert at Melbourne’s iconic Hamer Hall every 3 years.
Xavier College has a comprehensive performing arts program across all three campuses, all of which showcase theatre productions throughout the year.
The space below the Memorial Chapel, now the Crypt Drama Studio, was redeveloped as a space for classes and performances in 1999.
In 2008, the Eldon Hogan Performing Arts Centre (EHPAC), a state-of-the-art theatre complex, opened at the Senior Campus. It is used by Xavier College’s Drama and Music departments and has seating capacity for up to 500 people.
A Jesuit education seeks to impart a vision of a better world and strives to engender in the students a powerful sense of personal responsibility to help shape that better world through leadership and service.
Becoming ‘Men and Women for Others’ is an integral part of the Xavier College curriculum. The Ignatian Service program has all Middle and Senior Years students partake in community service placement throughout their education. Students care for their community in aged care facilities, specialist schools and in organisations such as Sacred Heart Mission, St Mary’s House of Welcome and Friday Night School.
It has been calculated that throughout their time at Xavier, a Year 12 cohort will have completed a combined 26,000 hours of community service through the program.
Students are encouraged to demonstrate leadership and service in all aspects of their lives. The Faith and Service program imparts on them the importance of serving and contributing to the wider community. Through the program, students have the opportunity to travel overseas on Immersion tours to experience different cultures.
Students also travel overseas for activities associated with music, sport and faith development. In recent years, Xavier College supported a wind ensemble tour in the UK, an athletics tour in Europe, a water polo tour in the US and a World Challenge trip to Peru.
Close to home, Xavier students travel to Indigenous communities to learn more about the history and culture of our land, centring on Indigenous perspectives. A Xavier education is holistic and inclusive, seeking to challenge the horizons of all students entrusted to the College.
Boarding has been an inherent part of the College since it first opened its doors over 140 years ago. The Xavier boarding experience is based on strong family and Catholic values.
Today at Xavier, we accommodate up to 76 boarders from Year 9 to Year 12.
The size and location of the house is significant. The boarding house is centrally located at the very heart of the campus and we are committed to keeping our numbers low. This means we know every student and every family.Â
Many members of the Boarding House staff are also teachers, meaning they are able to assist with both general and subject-specific content. The College also offers a supervised study program for all boarders.
Boarding at Xavier is built upon a strong three-way partnership between the College, the students and their parents. Parents are actively encouraged to be involved through a range of both formal and informal avenues of communication and participation, including a Boarding Parents’ Association which runs many activities throughout the year.
At Xavier, we enrol the family, not just the child.
Scholarships
Xavier College is a Catholic Jesuit College and as such is committed to the development of each student’s individual abilities to the highest degree possible. The College, together with the Xavier College Foundation, is therefore pleased to offer a range of scholarships for either current students or those who wish to attend the college.Â
Scholarships are offered in Years 7, 9 and 11 and are available in a number of different categories.
- Academic and Excellence Scholarships
- Music Scholarships (including boarding)
- Foundation Scholarships (various)
- Boarding Scholarships
Unfortunately Xavier College does not offer means-based scholarships.  However, the College does offer Bursaries to prospective students. For further information please visit xavier.vic.edu.au/xavier/content/bursaries
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Principal's Message
With passion and purpose, we seek to forge young men of character, of conscience, compassion and competent commitment. Within a spirit of excellence, we challenge our students to pursue their best, make a contribution and unlock their every potential.
For 140 years, we have been challenging and educating our students to strive for excellence in the development of their talent and potential through their intellectual, spiritual, moral, physical, social and emotional formation. Xavier offers a nurturing space, valuing inclusiveness and teamwork, in which students strive to discern and realise their gifts and to foster a passion for life and learning.
We also recognise that their gifts must be used not simply for the enrichment of self, but for the betterment of others. We recognise that their heart is most on fire when they are making a meaningful contribution to the world through service. Therefore, in meaningful ways, we seek to fulfil the Ignatian ideal of forming ‘men for others’ through acting in faith, for justice, and with dignity, humility and respect.
We aspire to nurture Xaverians who are able and willing, through word and deed, to pursue a courageous response to the challenges of our time and the building of a better world for all.
We invite you to discover how Xavier College may develop the God-given gifts and talents of your son.
Wishing you every blessing,
Fr Chris Middleton SJÂ (Rector)
Mr William Doherty (Principal)
(as voted by site visitors)
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