Independent, single-sex, day school in Mount Waverley, Victoria, Australia
Avila College is a Roman Catholic day school for girls which is located in the Melbourne suburb of Mount Waverley. The school was established in 1965 by the Presentation Sisters who accepted an invitation from the parishes in the Waverley area to establish a Catholic Girls' College.[1] The school identifies Saint Teresa of Avila as its patron saint, from whom the Latin motto 'Filiae Ecclesiae' (Daughters of the Church) is derived.
History
Avila College commenced in 1965 in temporary classrooms on the grounds of St Leonard's Catholic Primary School, Glen Waverley.[2] The college was established by the parishes of Mount Waverley, Glen Waverley, Syndal, Mulgrave and Jordanville who invited the Presentation Sisters to administer a Catholic college to provide for families in the area.
From an initial enrollment of 110 girls in Forms 1 and 2 – or years 7 and 8 – the college has grown to become one of the larger Catholic secondary schools for girls in the state with an enrollment of about 1100 students, and 150 staff.
Avila moved to its current location in Charles Street, Mount Waverley, in 1966.[2]
Principals
Sister Patricia Carroll was the founding principal of the college.
College principals:
- Sr. Patricia Carroll dec. (1965–1970)
- Sr. Raymonde Taylor (1971–1973)
- Sr. Josepha Dunlop (1974–1979)
- Patricia Ryan (1980–1986)
- Maureen Thompson (1987–1995)
- Filomena Salvatore dec. (1995–2005)
- Liz Gleeson (2006–2010)
- Louise Gunther (2011–2016)
- Michelle Cotter (2017–present)
The college offers extra-curricular programs which includes a heritage group, extended mathematics, social justice, reconciliation and conservation groups, music ensembles, a book club, public speaking and debating, and immersion trips to the Santa Teresa community in Central Australia and overseas. The school also has a brother school, Mazenod College, with which they collaborate on events.
