The community of St. John’s College, Preston, Melbourne, expressed gratitude to Archbishop Makarios of Australia because the school achieved in the VCE exams for 2020 to be ranked 54th among 582 schools in the State of Victoria.
In the relevant announcement, the community of the College offered thanks to Archbishop Makarios “for his trust, guidance and dedication to the revival and rescue of this most important educational institution of the Greek Diaspora in Melbourne,” as stated. It is reminded that, even before his arrival in Australia, the Archbishop accepted suggestions for the suspension of the operation of the College due to the limited number of enrolments, its large debt, the general poor financial situation and especially the negative record of academic performance. “Our Archbishop, instead of closing the school, turned his efforts to support the College, securing more than $3 million for its operational needs, displaying personal interest and constant care to ensure its continued existence.”
Along with this commendable achievement of the students in the exams, under the tenure of the new head, Anna Urban, who was appointed by the Archbishop in early 2020, and despite the crisis caused by the pandemic in Victoria, St. John’s College recorded an increase in enrolments.
The statement said: “Thanks to the personal commitment of His Eminence and the fervent support of the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of Australia, St. John’s College has now turned the page and is emerging as a leading Greek Orthodox College, of which the entire Victorian Greek community can once again be proud.”
Finally, all the members of the College said how proud and happy they were for the progress made in 2020 and reaffirmed their commitment to the Holy Archdiocese and the local community that “we will continue to work dedicated to the vision embodied in the school’s emblem: ‘To always excel.'”
Read the full announcement of St. John College
On behalf of the entire community of St. John’s College Preston – the Board of Directors, the school community, parents and alumni – we would like to express our heartfelt and sincere gratitude to His Eminence the Archbishop of Australia Makarios, for his trust, guidance and dedication to the revival and rescue of this most important educational institution of the Greek Diaspora in Melbourne.
It is a fact that even before his arrival in Australia, His Eminence received suggestions for the closure of the school, due to the limited number of enrolments, its’ large debts, general poor financial situation and especially the negative record of academic performance. Our Archbishop, instead of closing the school, turned his efforts to support the College, securing more than $3 million for its operational needs, displaying personal interest and constant care to ensure its continued existence.
St John’s cannot but be moved by the paternal concern and attention of His Eminence. The Principal, teachers and students, attest to this by the fact that in the VCE exams of 2020, the school achieved its best ever result. Specifically, St John’s managed to rank 54th among 582 schools in the State of Victoria. This is an outstanding improvement in the school ranking, as in the last three years (2017, 2018, 2019) it was ranked in positions 415, 237 and 344 respectively.
It is noteworthy that St John’s surpassed in the relevant ranking some of the most famous private schools in our State. The score of 34 is the median study score for the subjects completed by the Year 12 students at SJC, while 15% of the study scores were over 40. This is a remarkable student achievement, unprecedented in the history of St John’s.
Under the leadership of the new School Principal Anna Urban, who was appointed by His Eminence in early 2020, and despite the crisis caused by the pandemic in Victoria, St. John’s College recorded an enviable increase in enrolment, with more than 80 new students to have joined the St John’s family since December 2019. Today our school has 264 students.
With the support of the Board of Directors and the financial support of the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of Australia, Ms. Urban spearheaded a process of continuous improvement and progress in all areas – from school facilities to educational programs, staff training, management, values and enhanced school culture.
Thanks to the personal commitment of His Eminence and the fervent support of the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of Australia, St. John’s College has now turned the page and is emerging as a leading Greek Orthodox College, of which the entire Victorian Greek community can once again be proud.All members of the College express our pride and joy at the progress made in 2020 and reaffirm our commitment to the Archdiocese and the local community that we will continue to work dedicated to the vision embodied in the school’s emblem: ”To always excel.”
The Board of Directors and all the staff of the school will not rest until St. John’s College is able to fully implement its mission statement: “To cultivate the love of learning, to live the Orthodox Christian values of love, kindness, responsibility and humility, and to celebrate Hellenism, in a communal environment where everyone is welcome.”
Invoking the paternal blessings of our Archbishop, we express our gratitude to him and pledge to move forward for the glory of Christ and the Greek community in Melbourne.
