Four Pillars

Rostrevor College is a school for boys in the Edmund Rice tradition. Edmund gave up his flourishing business to devote himself to the poor and marginalised boys and people of Waterford, Ireland.

Rostrevor provides a holistic education that aims to allow young boys to flourish in all dimensions of their lives. We do this through the recognition that boys must engage in opportunities that use their HEARTS, their HEADS and their HANDS.

Thus, the College has built its education on the 4 Pillars of:

Service and Spirit | Academic Success | Beyond the Classroom | Student Wellbeing

Service and Spirit

A key aspect of our context is to educate young men who will live their role as a Catholic in today's society. Given that we now live in a culture of choice and diversity, we need to educate them thoroughly in the development of an informed conscience so that they can make mature decisions. They need to understand and be immersed in the scriptures, especially the Gospels, so that they come to realise what it means to follow Jesus.

Rostrevor encourages boys to follow Jesus as Edmund did by being aware of the marginalised through immersion experiences and the Service Learning program and hence, learning from them.

Stillness and meditation are essential steps to develop prayerfulness and reflection in their lives, while the Service Learning program encourages Faith In Action and teaches them to serve others. Given that for most of the boys, the school will be their main contact with Church, it is important to celebrate key aspects of school life with liturgies that are meaningful. Staff need to be formed so that they are confident in sharing their faith with students.

Our Religious Education program and the extended Religious dimension of the College include Retreats and opportunities for personal reflection, are just as strong and relevant today as they have ever been.

Academic Success

The school motto, 'Palma Merenti', encourages each boy to strive to be the best he can in every aspect of school life. Of course, this means each student should reach his academic potential, become responsible members of the community and be self-motivated and reflective lifelong learners.

We encourage and develop 21st Century skills - skills that respond to and integrate new technologies and our students' engagement with it. Today, more information than ever is at students' fingertips, but it takes skill to understand and connect it to prior learning. Familiar with technology and expecting to have a voice in their learning, students are more than ever in need of problem-solving, critical thinking and communication skills.

Our curriculum is particularly diverse and caters for all needs of each and every student. Flexibility is built into the education cycles in order to cater for those who strive for pre-university courses as well as a thorough VET pathway. The VET courses are accredited programs for senior secondary students that focus on particular career pathway areas. Rostrevor College has become a lead school of the Eastern Adelaide region in the delivery of VET programs.

These courses are delivered on a part-time basis and are accessed by Rostrevor College students and significant numbers of students from other schools.

A high priority for Rostrevor is the area of Professional Development of and for the staff.

Beyond the Classroom

Boys are physical and competitive and thus, co-curricular activities are an important component of the school. Music, Drama and the Arts help to develop the creative dimension of the boys.

Rostrevor prides itself on the diversity and quality of its co-curricular program. The College's sporting reputation is particularly significant and this is equally matched by the growing success experienced by our Music program. Recent national awards have highlighted the breadth and depth of this program.

The significant number of both State and National awards won by students from Rostrevor across all areas of our co-curricular program are too numerous to mention, however, in recent years, achievements include State Titles in; Football, Cricket, Soccer, Rugby 7's, Cycling, Golf, Squash, Cross- Country Running and Public Speaking.

Student Wellbeing

Our tailored approach to boys' education produces well-rounded, confident and outstanding young men who go on to be respected members of their community.

In order to achieve this, we recognise that at the very heart of life at Rostrevor is the belief that we are more than just a community but rather, we are a family.

The Rostrevor College family-centred approach to holistic education implies student wellbeing is of paramount importance. Wellbeing embraces the physical, emotional, psychological, intellectual, social and spiritual dimensions of the boys' lives.
At Rostrevor, our wellbeing structures provide:

An academic curriculum that is attentive to the needs of each student.
Religious education and faith development experiences and service learning opportunities that foster personal growth.
A co-curricular program that caters for all individual needs.
An Equity Services model that provides outstanding psychological services, individualised learning plans and extension opportunities for the gifted or talented.
A Pastoral Care structure that provides ongoing support, builds resilience, raises awareness of social issues, encourages the pursuit of excellence, develops the respect for the uniqueness and dignity of all individuals, develops a sense of personal responsibility and appropriate behaviours and builds lasting, positive relationships across a broad range of year levels.