History and background to
John Colet School,
Northern Beaches, Sydney
Tomorrow
While we are committed to being a two class per year primary school, development continues on new ways to improve and enhance our facilities. A new Art room, two new classrooms and a redesigned play and sports area were completed in 2022.
Today
Over the years John Colet School has continued to grow and develop new facilities to enhance the educational experience for its students. Today students have large modern classrooms, with break out rooms and interactive whiteboards. Specialist rooms are used for music, art and languages, together with a multi-purpose hall for productions and to serve the daily lunch provided by the School Chef.
John Colet School moves to Belrose
It was not long before the Schools reputation spread in Sydney and the demand for places grew. The School needed a more spacious site, and the current peaceful bushland setting in Belrose was found.
Founding of John Colet School
In 1985 John Colet School opened its doors in a terrace house in North Sydney. Begun by men and women studying together at the School of Practical Philosophy in Sydney, the founders of the School were looking for a classical education for their children. The intention was to provide strong academic foundations, a focus on character development and the practical application of philosophical principles.
Leon Maclaren
Leon MacLaren (1910 - 1994) born in London, embarked in the 1930s, on a journey to discover how men and women could relate to each other in society to create prosperity, peace and harmony. He discovered that this enquiry needed to go deeper into human nature and hence he started studying great philosophical questions such as 'Who am I' and 'What is my purpose'?
Leon MacLaren formed a group of like-minded people in London and as it grew it expanded around the world, including to Sydney in 1967. These groups became known as Schools of Philosophy. The enquiry also expanded into areas of specialist study such as Music, Art, Architecture, Economics and Education. Out of this sprang the day school movement which now has over a dozen schools around the world with about 2,000 children.
Leon MacLaren formed a group of like-minded people in London and as it grew it expanded around the world, including to Sydney in 1967. These groups became known as Schools of Philosophy. The enquiry also expanded into areas of specialist study such as Music, Art, Architecture, Economics and Education. Out of this sprang the day school movement which now has over a dozen schools around the world with about 2,000 children.
John Colet, the person our School is named after
Born in 1467 and educated at Oxford, John Colet was an important scholar in the Renaissance and a friend of such major figures as Sir Thomas Moore, Erasmus and Marsilio Ficino. He was a priest, whose Oxford lectures on St Paul's Epistles were based on such a simple and compassionate reading of the text that they became justly famous. As Dean of St Paul's Cathedral, he used his own wealth to found St Paul's School in London, which broke new ground in education and was the foundation of the English education system for the next four hundred years. For his piety, simplicity of life and intellectual and moral courage, John Colet was chosen as the patron of our school.