Patrician_Brothers'_College,_Blacktown

Patrician Brothers' College, Blacktown

Patrician Brothers' College, Blacktown

Single-sex secondary day school in Australia

For the Patrician Brothers' College in Fairfield, see Patrician Brothers' College, Fairfield.

Patrician Brothers' College, Blacktown is a Roman Catholic single-sex secondary day school for boys, located in Blacktown, a western suburb of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia.

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History

The College was founded in 1952 by the Patrician Brothers to serve mainly rural families of Blacktown and its surrounding districts. The school is set on several hectares in the heart of the rapidly expanding Blacktown. Under a restructure the College saw its last Year 6 class graduate in 1997 and the first Year 11 cohort commence in 1998. This led to an extensive building program with the addition of 11 classrooms, a technology block, library, a school office, and the Golden Jubilee Hall, as well as an amphitheatre finished in 2013.[1]

House names

Patrician Brothers' College Blacktown has a proud and prestigious history. They have captured some of this history in the names of the college houses:

  • The Delany Devils (Red) – Daniel Delany (1747–1814) founded the Patrician Brothers order at Tullow, Ireland in 1808 to educate the poor young people.
  • The MacKillop Magpies (Green) – Blessed Mary MacKillop (1842–1909) was beatified in 1996 by Pope John Paul II. Canonised in 2010.
  • The Massey Marlins (Gold) – Bernard Massey as the Parish Priest of Blacktown, was responsible for the establishment of the college in 1952.
  • The Histon Hounds (Blue) – Br. Gerard Histon was the founding Principal of the College in 1952. Died in 2010.

College crest

The college crest consists of a Shield surmounted by a Crown and the motto Christus Regnat, Latin for "Christ Reigns". The Shield represents the Catholic Faith, while the White Star encircled by the Wreath of Laurel represents The Blessed Lady. The Cross and the Crown represent 'The Crowning Gift of Faith'. Patrician Brothers' Blacktown is also known for its "brotherhood" attitude. The school is a largely multicultural group with many different cultures represented. A quote that has passed on for 59 years (since the school's inception) is: "Once a Pattie’s boy, always a Pattie’s boy."

Extracurricular activities

Patrician Brothers' Blacktown is known as one of the best sporting schools. The college takes part in the Metropolitan Catholic Schools (MCS) Competition and Combined Catholic Colleges (CCC) Tournaments. The school offers sports such as cricket, basketball, soccer, rugby league, touch football, rugby union, Australian rules football, golf, croquet, and swimming.

During the Arrive Alive Cup in 2007 the Patrician Brothers Blacktown progressed to the grand final. The match was telecast on Channel Nine. The MCS Rugby League Competition officially declared Patrician Brothers' Blacktown the most successful MCS school.[2]

The college is also known for its superb results in Public Speaking and Debating. In 2009, both the senior teams made it to the second quarter-finals of the CSDA debating competition the Year 9 Debating team was able to progress to the semi-finals.[3] In 2011, the Year 12A Debating team took out the Catholic Schools' Debating Association Trophy, going through the competition undefeated. In 2013, the senior teams progressed to the finals. In 2019, the Year 9 Debating Team, progressed through the metropolitan Sydney competition undefeated and took home the trophy of Year 9 Metropolitan Champions.

The school has continued success, and its community takes great pride in achievement.

Controversies

Former teacher Brother Martin Harmata pleaded guilty to sexually assaulting several boys including students at the school in the 1980s and was jailed for at least 3.5 years on 26 September 2013.[4] Former Patrician Brother novice and relief teacher Alan James Pollock was also arrested on allegations of sexual abuse of students. Other teachers were reported as being 'under investigation'.[5][6]

A third former teacher, a 57-year-old male, was arrested in February 2013 over offences alleged to have occurred between 1998 and 2002. The teacher has not been named.[7]

On 18 December 2013, a fourth former teacher and brother, Michael Stanton, was arrested.[8][9] Additional charges were laid against Michael Stanton in May 2014. The alleged offences occurred in 1980 against an 11-year-old boy.[10] Michael Stanton pleaded guilty to the charges in October 2015.[11] Alan James Pollock pleaded guilty to committing sexual offences against children in September 2014, and was sentenced to eight years gaol in December 2014.[12][13]

The Catholic Education Office has published statements concerning Alan Pollock,[12] Brother Martin Harmata,[14] and Michael Stanton[11] following their convictions.

Notable alumni

See also

References

  1. [1]
    "Catholic Education, Parramatta: Catholic Schools, Primary Schools, High Schools, Colleges in Western Sydney". Parra.catholic.edu.au. Retrieved 23 October 2017.
  2. [2]
    "MCS Rugby League Grand Finals 2008 — Patrician Brothers' College, Blacktown". Archived from the original on 14 October 2009. Retrieved 1 May 2009.
  3. [3]
    "Year 9 Debating Team — Patrician Brothers' College, Blacktown". Archived from the original on 17 October 2009. Retrieved 29 June 2009.
  4. [4]
    Alberici, Emma (21 June 2013). "Catholic teacher pleads guilty to sexual abuse". Abc.net.au. Retrieved 23 October 2017.
  5. [5]
    "Patrician Brothers Blacktown – who would send their boys there now?". Fatherkevinlee.blogspot.com. Retrieved 23 October 2017.
  6. [6]
    "Teachers charged with child sex abuse". News.yahoo.com. Retrieved 23 October 2017.
  7. [7]
    "Catholic teacher arrested over child abuse". Dailytelegraph.com.au. Retrieved 23 October 2017.
  8. [8]
    "Fourth man arrested in historical sex case". The Australian. 18 December 2013. Retrieved 23 October 2017.
  9. [9]
    "Former Sydney Catholic brother to face court charged over abuse". Abc.net.au. 19 December 2013. Retrieved 23 October 2017.
  10. [10]
    "Former Catholic brother charged with sex offences". Dailyadveriser.com.au. 22 May 2014. Retrieved 23 October 2017.
  11. [11]
    "Statement from the Patrician Brothers Australia : Michael Stanton" (PDF). Parra.catholic.edu.au. Retrieved 24 October 2017.
  12. [12]
    "Message from the Executive Director" (PDF). Parra.catholic.edu.au. Retrieved 24 October 2017.
  13. [13]
    "Ray Hadley: Paedophile Alan James Pollock jailed". 2gb.com. Retrieved 23 October 2017.
  14. [14]
    "STATEMENT OF BISHOP ANTHONY FISHER OP" (PDF). Parra.catholic.edu.au. Retrieved 24 October 2017.
  15. [15]
    Welcome to Patrician Brothers', retrieved 23 February 2023
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