Our History
John XXIII College commenced in 1977 following the amalgamation of Loreto College and St Louis School for Boys.
In 1986, the College moved to its current beautiful location in Mount Claremont. John XXIII College offers classes in each year of schooling from Pre-Kindergarten to Year 12.
The College maintains close Ignatian connections with Loreto and Jesuit schools throughout Australia. The College's Mission expresses our Catholicity and our strong spiritual, historical and ongoing links with Loreto and Jesuit communities.
A brief historical overview
The Loreto Sisters arrived in Perth in 1897 and established a school in Adelaide Terrace. In 1901 the Sisters opened Loreto Osborne in Claremont. The Jesuit Fathers, following a request from the Archbishop of Perth, opened St Louis School for Boys in 1938. In 1971 the Jesuit Fathers withdrew from proprietorship of St Louis leaving the school to the Archdiocese of Perth. Archbishop Goody appointed a School Council under the Chairmanship of Judge Lavan to organise and run the school.
The possibility of amalgamating the two schools in order to present a broader choice of educational opportunities for students was investigated. With much thought and preparation, the desired planning was achieved by the end of 1976. The new John XXIII College was to be located on the original sites with four distinct communities. The Junior Primary years were situated in the Koolyangarra Community, the Upper Primary grades were housed in Campion Community, St Louis Senior School became the home for Years 8 and 9, and the seniors, Years 10 to 12, were housed at Loreto College.
'Seek Justice' was the motto chosen for the new John XXIII College opened in 1977, following the amalgamation of Loreto College and St Louis School. Fr Daven Day, SJ was appointed the first Principal and Sr Bernadette Zeising IBVM was Vice-Principal.
Sr Denise Desmarchelier IBVM replaced Fr Day as Principal in 1979. One of her many challenges was to investigate the possibility of consolidating the school on one site. Fortunately, the College Council became aware that the State Government was planning to sell Swanbourne Hospital in order to consolidate the services it provided for mental health.
The Council successfully negotiated the purchase of the present 24.6 hectare site for John XXIII College. The planning, which began in 1981, was brought to fruition when the students moved to the new campus at Mt Claremont on 11 May 1986. Since then, there have been many additions all in the same architectural style.
Find out about our College Founders:
- Pope St John XXIII
- Mary Ward
- St Ignatius Loyola
