St Augustine's College (New South Wales) - Facilities

Facilities

The school's main classrooms and facilities are set out in six interconnected buildings. In addition to these interconnected establishments there are three other buildings which house more of the school's facilities. In recent years the college has undertaken further refurbishments and expansion. Two new buildings have been constructed and many offices and classrooms have been renovated. The main buildings in the school are as follows:

• Augustine Wing

The Augustine Wing is the oldest of the buildings at the college. It was initially built as a single story building, but as the years went on was expanded and refurbished and is now a double story building used to hold the main office and several classrooms. It was officially blessed and opened by Norman Cardinal Gilroy on 17 March 1957, despite already being used for almost a year before. The building, like the school, is named after St. Augustine of Hippo.

• Mendel Wing

The Mendel Block was built in 1971 and was specifically designed to hold the school's science classrooms and laboratories. It also holds many offices, an open learning centre and a computer room located on the ground floor. It is three stories high and is named after the Augustinian geneticist, Gregor Mendel. Mendel was Abbot of the Abbey of St. Thomas in Brno in the Czech Republic, and the Brno Augustinian community is unique in having an Abbot rather than a Prior to lead it.

• Tolentine Wing

The Tolentine Wing was initially constructed in 1972 as a building to hold the school's expanding library. However, over time, like the A Block, the building was greatly expanded and has now become a three story building used to hold the bulk of the school's classrooms. The building also holds offices and (formally) senior commonrooms. It is named after the Augustinian Saint, Nicholas of Tolentino. The commonrooms have refurbished to become extra classrooms as the senior commonrooms have been moved to the Old School Chapel.

• Goold Wing

The Goold Wing was added to the school in 1987. It was built to contain classrooms, music rooms, an auditorium, and (on the lower floor) staff facilities. In 2005 the second and third floors of the building underwent refurbishment, aimed to coincide with the construction of the new "Lecceto Arts Centre". The wing is named after James Alipius Goold, the first ever Augustinian to come to Australia and the first Archbishop of Melbourne.

• Brimson Centre

The Brimson Centre was constructed in 2003 to provide the school with excellent gymnasium facilities. It was designed to be able to a hold a basketball court as well as many other indoor sports that require a hard-floor surface (such as badminton and volleyball). The gymnasium, because of its large stage area and internal size, is also used as a place to hold school assemblies and productions. Underneath the gymnasium is the "Augustine Resource Centre" (nicknamed ARC). This area of the Brimson Centre was designed to be the new library (the old library was located in the "T-Block"). The ARC is also home to many computer/technology areas and two seminar rooms. The Brimson Centre is also home to many offices, a weights room and a large industrial-sized kitchen. The weights room is open to students before and after school and are primarily used by students in the school's open-grade rugby teams. The building was named after The Rev'd David Brimson OSA, first Rector of the College.

• Lecceto Arts Centre

The Lecceto Arts Centre, the school's newest building, was constructed in 2005 as a modern creative arts centre. It holds many music facilities, two more computer rooms and a brand-new auditorium (the old auditorium was located in the "G-Block"). The building has a large landing which is often used by the school to hold casual lunches and presentations. It was named after Lecceto Monastery, in Rosia, Tuscany, an Augustinian monastery which dates back to the "Grand Union" of the Augustinian Order in 1256.

• Good Counsel Wing

The Good Counsel Wing is a u-shaped building located to the back of the college behind the Mendel Wing. This area of the school is used primarily and exclusively by the juniors of the college (years 5-6) and consists of six classrooms. These facilities were opened in 1995.

• Old School Chapel

The Old School Chapel is a building located at the front of the school, alongside the main driveway. It was one of the first buildings constructed by the college. It has been refurbished into classrooms primarily for the teaching of religion.

• Senior Study Centres

Moran House (yr 11) and Cameron House (yr 12) are at the back of the Tolentine wing. Two new study centres have been built for our Yr 11 & 12 boys to study in. The two new individual free standing houses called 'Cameron House' and 'Moran House' named after past rectors Fr Ralph Cameron OSA and Fr Joseph Moran OSA, back on to the College grounds, creating a special domain for the boys to focus on both study and exam preparation techniques. The study rooms also contain a kitchen area for the students to use fitted with microwaves, fridges and ovens. 'Tolentine Park', a beautiful outdoor areas has also been built which includes two cricket practice nets and automatic bowling machine.

• Chalets (P Block)

2013 brought the introduction of four new demountable classrooms located behind the current Tolentine wing. The four classrooms can be accessed through Tolentine Park and contain smart boards and air conditioning for an enhanced learning environment.