Blog Layout

GOOD NEWS from Iona College, Geelong
Mar 25, 2021

A $60 million investment sees brand new Iona College set to grow with its community, thanks to support from CDF

From farmland to state-of-the-art facilities, Iona College is on track to become the heart of Charlemont. 


The brand new, co-educational Catholic secondary school, which opened in 2020 with 150 Year 7 students, is situated in Charlemont, part of Geelong’s Armstrong Creek, the largest contiguous growth area in Victoria. With plans to grow to approximately 1,400 students from Year 7 to 12 within the next six years thanks to funding from CDF, Iona College will meet the demands of a booming population by providing quality education and a sense of community for young families.

Foundation Principal Damian McKew, who is in his sixteenth year of principalship, believes schools are the heart of any community. 


“I think families in the area are looking to the school to be a really important part of their lives and the lives of their children,” Damian says. “We’re really excited that we can play that role for our young people and their families into the future.” 


Building a new school from the ground up, Damian says, offers a wonderful opportunity to grow and flourish alongside the students and instil important Catholic values. 

“Everything starts from scratch,” he says, “so we can work with our young people on what it means to be a modern Catholic school and the values of being a Catholic today, such as being compassionate and empathetic towards others.” 


With stage one of the development complete, current students can enjoy a three-storey, multi-purpose facility which offers an environment to study a broad curriculum including subjects such as science, IT and wood technology. The $25 million investment also contributed to the creation of an MCG-sized football oval, which is intended to be a resource for daily sport, inter-school sports days and the entire Charlemont community. 


“It’s a wonderful facility that will benefit our existing students and many students into the future,” Damian says. 


Further stages of the project, starting this year, will involve building specialist arts and science spaces, a college gymnasium, food technology facilities and more. Once complete, the investment will total approximately $60 million. 


Iona College Business Manager Tom Harriott says it’s worth every dollar. 


“It’s a significant investment not only from Iona College and the students but for our community,” he says, “particularly as it becomes a destination school for the Torquay, Barwon Heads and Ocean Grove areas.” 


Iona College’s partnership with the CDF has played a vital role in its establishment. 

“Our relationship with the CDF has been brilliant,” Tom says. “To be able to work with them like we have over the past two years has allowed us to build at the rate we want and to have access to the funds we need, when we need them.” 


Principal Damian agrees. 



“We’ve been really blessed to have a partnership with an organisation that has similar values,” he says. “Both being Catholic entities has enabled an element of trust and cooperation from the outset, which has brought this project to fruition.” 

Share this article:

Related articles

By Serge Jankovic 22 Feb, 2024
Pictured: Bede and his mother with Brendan Hoy; CDF GM Client Services and Aaron Gupta; CDF Relationship Manager.
By Kristen Sikora 25 Jan, 2024
In one of the most powerful and hard-hitting documents of his pontificate, Pope Francis has challenged humanity to address the “indubitable impact of climate change” on “our suffering planet” that he fears will devastate the lives of people around the world, and particularly the poorest.
By Kristen Sikora 22 Jan, 2024
Mercy Health is expanding its commitment to healthy ageing in the City of Kingston , Victoria, with the development of a new aged care facility, Mercy Place Mentone, with $22m in funding from CDF. Once complete, the new $40m establishment will be home to 128 residents, who will live across 16 small households. Each household will be shared by eight residents, featuring bedrooms with private ensuites, a kitchen, living and dining areas and laundry. The unique care model, characterised by small household living, has a primary objective to enhance resident independence through mission-driven aged care service in the Bayside region of Victoria.
More

CDPF Limited, a company established by the Australian Catholic Bishops Conference, has indemnified the Catholic Development Fund ABN 15 274 943 760 (the Fund) against any liability arising out of a claim by investors in the Fund. In practice, this means your investment is backed by the assets of the Catholic Archdiocese of Melbourne. The Fund is required by law to make the following disclosure. Investment in the Fund is only intended to attract investors whose primary purpose for making their investment is to support the charitable purposes of the Fund. Investors’ funds will be used to generate a return to the Fund that will be applied to further the charitable works of the Archdiocese of Melbourne and the Dioceses of Sale and Bunbury. The Fund is not prudentially supervised by the Australian Prudential Regulation Authority nor has it been examined or approved by the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC). An investor in the Fund will not receive the benefit of the financial claims scheme or the depositor protection provisions in the Banking Act 1959 (Cth). The investments that the Fund offers are not subject to the usual protections for investors under the Corporations Act (Cth) or regulation by ASIC. Investors may be unable to get some or all of their money back when the investor expects or at all and investments in the Fund are not comparable to investments with banks, finance companies or fund managers. The Fund’s identification statement may be viewed here or by contacting the Fund. The Fund does not hold an Australian Financial Services Licence.

Share by: