Clairvaux Mackillop College

All you want to know about Clairvaux Mackillop College

For other uses, see CMC.

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Clairvaux Mackillop College is a secondary school located in Upper Mt. Gravatt on the south side of Brisbane, Australia. Two colleges on adjoining land merged to form CMC in 1984. The full integration occurred in 1988 with the first co-educational year 8. Of the original colleges, Clairvaux had been founded by the Christian Brothers in 1966 as an all-boys school while Mackillop College, a girls' school, moved to the site in 1971, having been previously located in nearby Holland Park.

With a student body of 1,200, it is the largest Catholic Education school facility in Queensland. It houses the Edmund Rice Centre, which is used for the education of learning impaired students.

Clairvaux Mackillop has had a strong history of participation in sport especially Rugby League and this participation has changed the face of schoolboy rugby league in Australia. In 1992, the team was the first to be thrown out of the Commonwealth Bank Cup (the premier schoolboy competition in Australia at the time) for on-field violence. A punch directed at the Clairvaux halfback was said to be the start of the fracas. Although Clairvaux Mackillop was not seen as the aggressor in this clash the reputation for physical play persisted. This was followed up in 1997 with a televised game which ended with an all-in brawl. According to the AP, "The fighting, which also involved players being kicked and kneed, involved students at Camp Hill High and Clairvaux MacKillop College. The brawl was featured on national television and in newspaper headlines." The Commonwealth Bank ended its 17 year association with schoolboy rugby league after the incident and left the competition without a sponsor.

The house system was expanded in 1995 and the six houses participate in fund raising for selected charities, vie in friendly rivalry for sporting and academic points while coming together as a united college for interschool events.

The students are divided into the following 6 houses:

Aspinall (Orange): Named after Father Kevin Aspinall, PP.
Campbell (Yellow): Named after Sister Margaret Mary Campbell, first principal of Mackillop. (formally O'Donnell)
Chisholm (Green): Named after Caroline Chisholm. (formally Penola)
MacKillop (Red): Named after Mary MacKillop. (formally Duhig)
Rice (Blue): Named after Edmund Rice.
Surawski (Purple): Named after Brother Surawski, the first principal of Clairvaux.

Notable former students

Brisbane neurosurgeon Scott Campbell (neurosurgeon), who separated twins Tay-lah and Monique Armstrong in Brisbane in October 2000.
Darren Smith, played for the Kangaroos or the Australian national rugby league team and the Brisbane Broncos.
Terry Hansen, comedian and radio DJ.
Peter and Mark Coyne, Rugby League.
Melissa Wu (diver) an Australian gold medal winning syncronized diver.
Mitchell Kealey an Australian olympic runner, who runs long distance.