A Community for Life
How generations of Old Boys continue to shape St Augustine's College What does it say about a school when its students keep coming back? Not just for reunions or milestone celebrations, but as teachers, coaches, mentors, tutors and parents. At St Augustine's College, stories like these are remarkably common. Former students regularly return through the College gates, drawn back by the community that helped shape them and a desire to give something back to the next generation. For Principal…
What are St Augustine's College students really like?
You can tell a lot about a school by what happens when a stranger walks through the gate. On his first morning, before the boys had any idea who he was, Mr Wickham stood at the front gate and watched most of them do something small and telling. "There would have been at least half to three-quarters who greeted me, eye contact, and said good morning sir. And how are you? It was that sense of community that you got straight away." Ask the people who teach here what the boys are like, and the…
What a young man of heart looks like
Ask a boy at the College what it means to be a young man of heart and the answer comes back plain and specific: looking out for his mates, making sure the boy beside him is okay, being honest, being himself whatever the crowd. It's what comes through when you listen to them. Honest, unforced, and more convincing for it. The phrase sits at the centre of how the College talks about itself, and phrases like that can drift into the abstract. The boys in this video answer what it actually looks…
When a Year 11 student told politicians that teenagers need somewhere to go
When Charlie S. stood in front of local, state and federal politicians, he did not ask for another youth program. He asked for somewhere teenagers could simply go after school. Charlie is the Wellbeing Prefect at St Augustine's College and a member of the Northern Beaches Youth Advisory Group. He was speaking at Have Your Say Day 2026, an annual forum where student leaders from schools across the Northern Beaches present to elected representatives on issues affecting young people. The data…
Strong enough to care
A few weeks ago, an email arrived from a mother with no connection to St Augustine's College. Her daughter had been struggling with her bike on a Saturday afternoon when a group of our boys noticed and came over without being asked. They sorted the bike, offered some encouragement, and quietly moved on. There was no audience. No reward. No expectation of recognition. She felt compelled to write anyway. Part of her email read: "In an era where 'toxic masculinity' is everywhere, it was so…
Five days on the Hawkesbury with strangers
Oscar Donnan didn't know most of the people in the canoe with him. That's part of how it works. The Duke of Edinburgh’s International Award Gold level expedition puts you on the water with people you've barely spent time with, for five days, with no particular option but to figure it out together. Day one, you're polite strangers navigating the logistics of where to camp and who does what. By day five, something has quietly shifted. Oscar's description of how it ended is understated in a way…
What sport actually teaches boys
At St Augustine's College, the message from Mr Jonathan Harvey, Assistant Principal - Sport and Co-Curricular, starts in an unlikely place. Pick up the rubbish. Not as a chore. Not as a punishment. As a philosophy. It sounds like a small thing. A quick bend, a second's inconvenience, something easily left for someone else. But Mr Harvey argues that it reveals something important about a young person's character long before they ever compete. The idea draws on a well-known principle from New…
Why character formation starts within
The world tends to judge by what's visible: results, rankings, reputation. So it's natural to assume character is formed the same way. But it isn't. It begins somewhere less comfortable: within. At St Augustine's College, education has always been about more than what students achieve. It's about who they're becoming. That formation starts in the inner life, the thoughts, motivations, tensions and quiet wrestlings that shape a person long before they act. The inner battleground Saint Augustine…
Student Wellbeing in Action: A Term 1 Reflection
Term 1 is done. Before the pace of Term 2 picks up, it's worth noting what actually happened across it. Wellbeing in a school doesn't usually show up in a single moment. It builds through routines, conversations and the slow accumulation of habits that help boys understand themselves and each other a bit better. That's what Term 1 was mostly about. Starting with Belonging The first weeks of the year are about helping students find their footing. Tutor groups worked on settling into new routines…
