Students attending Catholic secondary schools rated their emotional and mental wellbeing the highest of any Australian school sector.

St Columba’s, Ballarat North students and teachers have this term moved into beautifully refurbished learning spaces

Diocese of Ballarat Catholic Education Limited (DOBCEL) Executive Director Tom Sexton has been recognised as a thought-leader in education in Australia and invited to participate in the British Parliament Trust’s commemorative book marking the 75th anniversary of the formation of the Commonwealth.

Three country dioceses - Ballarat, Sandhurst and Wagga Wagga - have collaborated to offer an intensive 7-day residential leadership program to help develop Catholic school leaders.

Nine Catholic school communities across the diocese of Ballarat will benefit from funding for new and upgraded facilities announced by the Allan State Government today. Catholic Education Ballarat Executive Director Tom Sexton says the funding will assist the schools to deliver high-quality learning environments for students and teachers into the future. ‘Diocese of Ballarat Catholic schools educate more than 18,500 or 20+% of students across Western Victoria. ‘Our schools keep fees as low as possible and welcome families from all backgrounds,’ he said. ‘This state government funding is most welcome and supports parent (approximately 80%) and commonwealth government contributions to assist with capital works to ensure our schools can provide…

Read about the great work happening across our diocesan schools, parishes, and agencies. The July edition of “Our Diocesan Community” is now available for reading or downloading. Download July edition  

The St Mary’s Catholic primary school community in Ararat is to benefit from a $3,000,000 upgrade

Benefiting from a decentralised, efficient IT infrastructure with he implementation of Paessler's PRTG Network Monitor

St Patrick’s Cathedral, Ballarat invites applications from Years 3 – 6 students, with musical interest and aptitude, for a Cathedral Choral Scholarship for 2026. The Choral Scholarships are modelled on similar approaches operating in the Melbourne, Sydney and Geraldton Cathedrals. Children who are successful will join the Cathedral’s Cantate Domino Choir, which is currently made up of 30 adults and children. The Choir covers a broad and exciting range of repertoire, including traditional styles of sacred music and contemporary church hymns. We provide opportunities for musical, vocal and personal development, in a safe, fun environment. Successful applicants are required to participate in weekly rehearsals and sing at two Masses per month during term time.…

Executive Director of Diocese of Ballarat Catholic Education (DOBCEL), Tom Sexton, says Catholic primary schools in the Diocese have been moving towards an explicit instruction, phonics-based approach to teaching reading, as part of a structured literacy initiative, since January 2023. Speaking in response to Victorian Education Minister Ben Carroll’s announcement today of a move to a phonics approach to teaching F-2 reading in Victorian government schools, Mr Sexton said the Diocese had formed a partnership with La Trobe University early last year to proactively address the issue. ‘There is an overwhelming body of research supporting an explicit, sequential approach to teaching reading and literacy, of which phonics is an integral…