The school traces its origins to 1875 in Sydney when it began in The Rocks as St Patrick’s Select School — the first Catholic high school in Sydney. In 1887, the school moved to the site of St Mary’s Cathedral and then in 1910 to Darlinghurst. Darlinghurst finally closed in 1968 and the colours, badge, motto and records of the school were transferred to Canberra. Marist College is an independent Catholic day school for boys, owned and operated by the trustees of the Marist Brothers. The aim of the school is to provide good Christian education in a family spirit.
Facilities: There are five ovals, in addition to tennis, handball and basketball courts. The Junior School (Years 4 to 6) has its own separate building and campus. The main secondary school building is two-storey, and in addition there are blocks for industrial arts, art, music, drama, physical education and a Resource Centre accommodating the library and information centre and hospitality rooms. A second classroom block, called The Parents Building, overlooks the main oval.
Courses Years 7 to 10: Religious Education, English, Mathematics, Science, Social Science, Food Technology, Performing Arts, Physical Education, Visual Art, Industrial Arts, Languages (French, Italian, Japanese), Computing. Full details are set out in the college handbook for Years 7 to 10.
Courses Years 11 and 12: Religious Education, English, Mathematics, Science, Social Science, Languages (French, Italian, Japanese), Computing, Performing Arts, Food Science, Art, Technology, Physical Education. As is customary in the ACT system, the college offers tertiary and accredited courses in most of these areas and vocational courses in Retail, Hospitality, General Construction and Woodcraft. Full details appear in the relevant handbook. As is customary in the ACT system, the college offers tertiary and accredited courses.
VET Courses: Marist College is also a Registered Training Organisation (RTO) which delivers VET courses within the general curriculum. The current VET courses delivered are in Retail, Construction Pathways, Library/Information Services, Furnishing, Information Technology and Hospitality. Full details appear in the Senior Handbook. VET courses are delivered within the Australian Quality Framework and articulate with recognised pathways to CIT and university, with credit given for modules completed at Marist.
There is a high employment rate for Year 12 graduates who complete a Certificate I or II while at school, with employers advertising their skilled trades’ vacancies directly with the college’s Careers Office.
Sport: All students are encouraged to play sport for the school — rugby, soccer, Australian rules, cricket, hockey, swimming, basketball, volleyball, athletics and cross-country. There is an extensive outdoor education program, including a 12-day Outward Bound course in the Australian Alps.
Pastoral care: The primary pastoral care structure within the school is the House. There are approximately 160 boys in each House — divided into nine vertical groups, with three boys from each of Year group. The House is led by a House Dean and each vertical House Group has a teacher as leader. In addition, the Year 12 boys in each House group are ‘House Seniors’ who have a particular responsibility to look after the younger students in the group. The College is a MindMatters school with a specific focus on student wellbeing.
Special features: The College has a qualified careers adviser available to Year 7 to 12 students. All Year 10 students have the opportunity to take part in the Year 10 Work Experience program and students in Years 11 and 12 have work experience opportunities facilitated by the careers adviser. The annual Careers Expo brings university and other tertiary institutions, apprenticeship centres, various group trainers and government departments together to provide students and parents with career pathway information.