Patrician Brothers' College, Blacktown

Patrician Brothers' College, Blacktown
Patrician Brothers' College, Blacktown
	Patrician Brothers College
Location
	Blacktown, Greater Western Sydney, New South Wales; Australia
Coordinates	33°46′28″S 150°54′33″E / 33.77444°S 150.90917°E
Information
Type	single-sex secondary day school
Motto	Christus Regnat; (Christ Reigns)
Religious affiliation(s)	Patrician Brothers
Denomination	Roman Catholic
Established	1952; 72 years ago
Educational authority	New South Wales Department of Education
Oversight	Catholic Education Office, Diocese of Parramatta
Principal	Frank Chiment
Gender	Boys
Enrolment	1,100
Colour(s)	Royal blue and yellow
Website	www.patsblacktown.catholic.edu.au

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.

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.