Brief History of St Francis Xavier's College

St Francis Xavier’s College was established in 1985 to serve the Catholic youth of Newcastle, and district, for the last two years of their secondary schooling. It was seen as a continuation of the Catholic Education system founded in the Diocese of Maitland-Newcastle more than a hundred years ago.

The establishment of the senior College was a result of a major restructuring of Catholic schools in the Newcastle area at the time. An essential principle of this restructuring was “to establish a system which would provide equality of access and opportunity for both boys and girls, thereby eliminating some inequality that currently existed throughout the city.” The choice of the site was greatly influenced by its centrality and accessibility to transport facilities.

1985, the inaugural year of the new College, was a transitional year with co-educational classes in Year 10 as well as in Year 11, and with boys only in Year 12.  It was not until the following year that there were only Years 11 and 12 at the College. 1986 saw a total student enrolment of approximately 850. This number continued to grow steadily stabilising at approximately 1000.

In 2022, the Diocese announced a renewed vision for inner-city schools, which currently sees St Francis Xavier’s College transitioning to a Years 7 – 12 context. 2024 saw the arrival of almost 150 Year 7 students onsite who joined approximately 850 senior students. Ensuing years will see ongoing growth in the junior aspect of the school until the final Years 7 – 12 vision is realised in 2027. An accompanying building program is planned to renew the site to create innovative and vibrant learning spaces and facilities for our evolving demographic.

St Francis Xavier

The Patron Saint of our school, St Francis Xavier, was born in Spain in 1506. After finishing his schooling, he went on to study at the University of Paris and ten years later in 1534, he was one of the first to join the Society of Jesus, or Jesuit Order, as we know them today.

The Jesuits had a goal of spreading the teachings of Jesus far and wide – they were missionaries. Francis Xavier took up this challenge. He travelled to many countries, and faced difficult challenges, but he persevered and spent 10 years evangelising – bringing many thousands of people to Christianity.

Our college motto – Christ My Light – is inspired by St Francis Xavier. He continually reminded those to whom he spoke that Christ is the light that we should follow. Through his words and actions, St Francis Xavier has become a guide leading us to Christ. He was a great Jesuit scholar, a missionary to our Asian neighbours and is one of the Patron Saints of Australia, a truly inspiring person to have as our Patron Saint.