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Mercedes College (Adelaide)

{{more citations needed|date=May 2018}}

{{Use dmy dates|date=January 2021}}

{{Use Australian English|date=April 2019}}

{{Infobox school

| name = Mercedes College

| image = Mercedes-college-logo-large.png

| image_size = 180px

| coordinates = {{coord|34|58|34|S|138|37|45|E|type:edu_region:AU-SA|display=inline,title}}

| motto = {{langx|fr|Loyal en Tout}}

| motto_translation = Loyal in All

| denomination = Roman Catholic

| religious_affiliation = Sisters of Mercy

| established = {{Start date and age|1954}}

| gender = co-educational

| grades = R–12

| grades_label = Years

| enrolment = {{circa|1,200}}

| type = Independent co-educational primary and high day school

| principal = Andrew Balkwill

| chairman = Louise Mathwin

| key_people = {{bulleted list|Paul Wadsworth
{{small|(Deputy Principal)}}|Bill Deegan
{{small|(Head of Senior School)}}|Jarrad McCabe
{{small|(Head of Middle School)}}|Kellie Osborn
{{small|(Head of Junior School)}} }}

| chaplain = Deacon Andrew Kirkbride

| location = Springfield, South Australia

| country = Australia

| slogan = Unlocking Life Potential

| colours = Green, gold and navy blue {{color box|#207817}}{{color box|#FFAE05}}{{color box|#0A126B}}

| campus_type = Suburban

| mascot = "Camels"

| affiliations = {{bulleted list|International Baccalaureate|Council of International Schools|Sports Association for Adelaide Schools|Junior School Heads Association of Australia }}

| homepage = {{URL|www.mercedes.catholic.edu.au}}

}}

Mercedes College is an independent Roman Catholic co-educational primary and High day school located in the Adelaide inner-south suburb of Springfield, South Australia, Australia.{{Cite book|title=The ECIS international schools directory 2009/10|date=2009|publisher=John Catt Educational|others=Bingham, Derek., European Council of International Schools.|isbn=9781904724674|location=Woodbridge|pages=3|oclc=390865538}}

Established by the Sisters of Mercy in 1954 as a boarding school for girls, it is now a co-educational day school. Mercedes is an International Baccalaureate (IB) school, and offers the PYP, MYP, and IB Diploma programmes as well as the South Australian Certificate of Education (SACE).

History

File:Strathspey Building, Mercedes College (Adelaide), circa 1910.jpg

The school was established by the Sisters of Mercy in 1954. The purchase of the {{convert|8.1|ha|acre|abbr=off}} site at Springfield brought to fruition the dream of finding a healthier environment for the girls' boarding school until that time part of Saint Aloysius College in Angas Street, Adelaide. With the eighty boarders on opening day were sixty day scholars, mostly girls but with a group of boys in the infant section.{{Cite book|title=What does it mean to be a saint? : reflections on Mary MacKillop, saints and holiness in the Catholic tradition|date=2010|publisher=Wakefield Press|others=Laffin, Josephine.|isbn=9781862549395|location=Kent Town, S. Aust.|oclc=669146600}}

After twenty-one years the boarding school was phased out when rising costs and a decline in the rural economy made it financially beyond the means of the very families it was created to serve. In 1976 the school became co-educational with the first intake of boys in the Year 8 and numbers have grown. The Mercedes property was originally part of the Springfield Estate. It was sold to Sir John Duncan, (father of Sir Walter, Speaker of the Australian House of Representatives for many years) who planned the house in 1891 and built it in 1899. The family home was named Strathspey after his childhood home in Scotland.

The Duncans eventually bequeathed the property to the Presbyterian Church and it became St Andrew's Residential College attached the University of Adelaide. In 1939 the property was sold to Mr and Mrs F. W. Cornell and it once again became a private residence.

Archbishop Reynolds, first Archbishop of Adelaide, was in Dublin in 1879 asking for sisters of his diocese when a group of sisters returned from Buenos Aires, forced by revolution to leave their home for twenty-four years. Some were the original Irish sisters but many were South American girls who left behind their families and homes. Accepting the Archbishop's invitation the twenty-four sisters arrived in Adelaide on 3 May 1880.

In 1953 the property was bought by the Sisters of Mercy, and approved by Xavier Dalton. Mercedes, the Spanish word for mercy, was chosen by the sisters to commemorate the circumstances of the Mercy foundation in Adelaide.{{Cite web|url=https://www.mercedes.catholic.edu.au/about-mercedes/about-mercedes/college-history/|title=Mercedes College History - Mercedes College|website=mercedes.catholic.edu.au|access-date=2019-10-22}}

Student life

Many of the students who study at Mercedes College live in the eastern suburbs of Adelaide and Adelaide Hills, because of the easy access by public transport. Mercedes College uses the Adelaide Metro bus service to transport nearby students.

House system

As with most Australian schools, Mercedes College utilises a house system. At first there were two houses (McAuley and Fitzpatrick), but as enrolment numbers increased, two more houses were added. There are currently four houses, each named after memorable Mercy Sisters.{{citation needed|date=June 2020}} The current houses are McAuley, Fitzpatrick, Dalton and Barry.

Notable alumni

{{Unreferenced section|date=June 2020}}

See also

{{stack|{{Portal|Schools|Catholicism}}}}

References

{{Reflist}}

External links

  • {{URL|http://www.mercedes.catholic.edu.au}} College website, 2008, Home, accessed 12 March 2009.

{{ISSA Schools}}

Category:Catholic primary schools in Adelaide

Category:International Baccalaureate schools in Australia

Category:Catholic secondary schools in Adelaide

Category:Junior School Heads Association of Australia Member Schools

Category:Educational institutions established in 1954

Category:Sisters of Mercy schools

Category:1954 establishments in Australia