Mount Carmel Catholic College (abbreviated as MCCC) is a systemic Catholic co-educational secondary school of the Marist tradition located in Varroville, a suburb 46 kilometres south-west of Sydney. It is situated within the city of Campbelltown, New South Wales, Australia. The current principal is Stephen Lo Cascio.
Mount Carmel is a member of the Macarthur Independent Schools Association (MISA) and the Association of Marist Schools of Australia.
History
Mount Carmel Catholic College was first initiated in 1983/84 by a committee of parishioners located in Ingleburn and Macquarie Fields. The goal of this committee was to establish a Catholic secondary school for the northern part of the Macarthur region. The submission for the school was put to Bishop Murray who was the Bishop of Wollongong at the time. After negotiations with the Carmelite Fathers the site was chosen in Varroville near St Andrews Road and Spitfire Drive.
The first 145 students of the school commenced their education in 1985 at John Therry Catholic High School in Rosemeadow. In September that year, the Commonwealth Government allocated a capital grant, which began Stage 1 of construction.
In 1986, 292 students from Years 7 to 8 were therefore able to begin studies at the main site in Varroville. The principal at this time was Brother Clarence Cunningham. In 1990/91, Brother Clarence stepped down as principal and Brother Neville Solomon was appointed. In this time, the construction of the Champagnat Centre began. In 1996/97, Brother Neville stepped down as principal and Brother Roger Burke became the new principal. By 1998, construction work had begun on new extensions to the site, and this was completed in 1999.
In 2002, John Barrington became the first lay principal of Mount Carmel. In 2007 the new Administration building was completed. In 2012, Wayne Marshall was appointed as the second lay Principal at Mount Carmel. Following a federal building grant, construction on the La Valla Trades Skills Centre began in 2014. In 2015, Mount Carmel Catholic High School was officially renamed Mount Carmel Catholic College and celebrated 30 years since its establishment in 1985.
In 2018, Stephen Lo Cascio commenced as the third lay Principal at Mount Carmel.
Academics
Mount Carmel has a key focus on quality learning and teaching in the academic environment. The College consistently tops the secondary schools in the diocese for academic achievement, particularly in the HSC examinations.
Students follow the curriculum enforced by the New South Wales Education Standards Authority (NESA). As a systemic Catholic secondary school in the Roman Catholic Diocese of Wollongong, all students must study the Religious Education curriculum developed by the diocese.
Junior School
In Years 7–10, all students must complete mandatory study in the core curriculum comprising:
English
Mathematics
Science
Catholic Studies
Human Society and Its Environment (Australian History and Geography) Personal Development, Health and Physical Education
Stage 4 (Years 7–8) In Stage 4, students also complete mandatory study in:
Technology: Food, Industrial, Graphics, and Textiles Technology (Year 7 and 8) Creative and Performing Arts: Music (Year 7) and Visual Arts (Year 8) Languages: Spanish or Italian (Year 8)
Stage 5 (Years 9–10) In Stage 5 (Years 9–10), students have the opportunity to select two electives per year in addition to the core curriculum. Catholic Studies is a mandatory elective course. Elective courses include specific subjects in the Technologies, HSIE, CAPA, Languages and PDHPE key learning areas, which are completed as 1000 hour/200 hour courses in Years 9 and 10 respectively. These include:
Technology: Information Software Technology (IST), iSTEM, and all major strands of mandatory technologies HSIE: Commerce, History and Geography Elective CAPA: Music, Visual Arts, Drama PDHPE: Child Studies, Physical Activity and Sports Studies (PASS)
Senior School
In Senior school, students will undertake either an ATAR or Non-ATAR pattern of study. In Stage 6, all courses are selected by the student based on their interest and capacities. At the end of Semester 1 of Year 10, students will receive an eligibility criteria for all courses offered at the College based on their Semester 1 academic results and effort grades to inform their subject selection decisions, as there are grade prerequisites for entry into certain HSC courses.
For example, students wishing to study Mathematics Advanced in Stage 6 must be attaining a grade B or above in Stage 5.3 Mathematics by Semester 1 of Year 10.