Our Story

Our College Begins…
The college opened its doors in 1986 with 90 students in Years 7 and 8.

In 1984, Delfin Management Services was developing land in the Golden Grove area in association with the Urban Land Trust. They were planning a ‘Joint Schools’ project and contacted the Pedare foundation planning committee to see if Pedare was interested in joining the scheme, which would also include a Catholic College and a State High School. Pedare agreed, and the proposal went forward.

By 1990, the College had grown to accommodate all secondary levels of education (Years 8 to 12) together with a single year 7 class.
Other History Information: What’s in a Name?

The name ‘Pedare’ was given to a vineyard established by the Tolley family on Ladywood Drive, Modbury. It was a name formed from the first two letters of the names of the three sons of Mr Leonard J Tolley: Peter, David and Reginald. Although the site for the College was originally planned to be on the Tolley vineyard land at Modbury, the present location in Golden Grove was subsequently decided upon following the decision to participate in the ‘Joint Schools’ project.

In recognition of our past pioneers, the name Pedare was chosen for the new College, which became Pedare Christian College. Today, we maintain a small section of the original vineyard at our Surrey Farm Drive location.

By 1991, the Board decided to expand the College to include a Primary Campus, with the primary component commencing in 1993 on a nearby site
on Bicentennial Drive, Golden Grove.

Work commences to expand the College and build a dedicated primary campus at 150 Bicentennial Drive, Golden Grove.
This area has very steep banks and amazing views of the hills towards Greenwith. Thanks to the assistance of dedicated staff, students and volunteers lots of the slopes were planted with shrubs and plants to stop.

At the commencement of 2005, the Year 6 and 7 classes moved to the Surrey Farm Drive location, therefore establishing Middle School (Years 6 – 9) on the one site. With this move, the identities of the three sub-schools were achieved with the Junior School at Bicentennial Drive and Middle and Senior Schools at Surrey Farm Drive.

On 1 November 2005, a 20 year Celebration Ceremony was held in the College Chapel. Time capsules were blessed and buried and the College’s past and present successes were remembered.

Another link with the history of the region is expressed through the names of the College Communities, which came from farms that originally occupied land on or adjacent to the present College site. They are: Brooklyn, from Brooklyn Villa Farm; Eldergreen, from Elder Green Farm; Greenwith, from Greenwith Farm; Hillcott, from Hillcott Farm and Surrey, from Surrey Farm.

Today, our R – 12 College provides a vibrant, globally focussed, values-rich education and in 2015 the College celebrated its 30th year.

Today the College has approx 1100 students with a dedicated Junior School spanning from Mid-Year Reception through to Year 5, a specialised Middle School area from Year 6 to Year 9 and a Senior School Precinct from Year 10 to Year 12.

Our Vision

Fostering partnerships with families that enable students to:

• excel in learning
• be globally focused
• have a strong sense of self-worth
• make a difference in the community.