Gilroy Catholic College was founded in 1980 with 12 staff members and 137 students enrolled in Year 7. The college was founded on the back of strong parish and local support for a Catholic co-educational secondary school. The college was built on the land formerly belonging to St Gabriel's School for the Hearing Impaired, thus making use of existing buildings. The school was originally intended for students from Year 7 to Year 10. However, in 1982 it was decided that Gilroy would also include students from Year 11 and Year 12. The school, with continuing support from the CEO and St Gabriel's School for the Hearing Impaired, hosts a learning support centre for secondary students with hearing impairment. The school's feeder schools originally consisted of St Michael's, Our Lady Of Lourdes, St Bernadette's and Our Lady of the Rosary.
Norman Gilroy
Gilroy Catholic College was named after Cardinal Sir Norman Thomas Gilroy, the first cardinal born in Australia. As well as adopting his name, the college also made Cardinal Gilroy's personal motto, "Christ is my light", its official motto. In 2004, Gilroy Catholic College celebrated its Silver Jubilee as a school and a community. Each year, the college celebrates its patron with a formal Gilroy Day Mass in the morning, while also including celebration activities during the afternoon. This was changed from 17 March, the anniversary of Cardinal Gilroy's elevation to becoming a bishop, to 4 May, the day on which the school was officially opened.
Faith and religion in the College
Gilroy Catholic College offers a number of opportunities for students to engage in Catholicism and further explore their faith. The school offers multiple liturgies for special religious events and each grade is provided with a reflection day on an annual basis to reflect on their faith over the year. Gilroy Catholic College offers a robust religious education program that incorporates creative learning with faithful exploration. Gilroy Catholic College has previously worked with multiple organizations to assist with charity events, and the school focuses on a specific value each year.
Government funding
On 9 February 2008, The Sydney Morning Herald revealed that Greens analysis of government figures showed that, over four years, Gilroy received $12.2 million more in federal government funding than it is entitled to under the socioeconomic status formula.
School technology
Gilroy Catholic College uses a number of technology mediums. Year 7-9 students work with iPads, and Year 10-12 students work with Apple Macbooks. Gilroy Catholic College changed to a "BYOD" policy in 2013. Gilroy Catholic College uses a number of Learning Management Systems including Google Classroom for students from Year 7-12.
Jessica Falkholt - Actress who died in 2018 from a car crash. She was most well known as playing the character 'Hope Morrison' in the TV series Home and Away.
Jonathan Boulet - Rock musician, best known for his works as a solo artist. When he attended Gilroy, he was in a band called 'City Escape Fire', but has since released solo albums with him playing almost all of the instruments.
Stevie Paoli - Better known by his stage name 'Stevie Strange', Paoli was a guitarist in the glam metal/ hard rock band De La Cruz from 2013 until the band’s end in 2014.
Kailyn Joseph - Australian athlete at the 2018 Commonwealth Games. She represented Australia in the T38 Long Jump event, despite being classified as a T37 athlete. She finished 5th in her event and in fact, was still attending Gilroy during her participation at the Commonwealth Games. Kailyn attended Gilroy from 2015-2018.
Meaghan Dowling - Australian athlete at the 2000 Summer Paralympics. She competed in the 100m, 200m and 400m in the T46 and finished 9th, 7th and 5th respectively. During her participation at the Sydney 2000 Paralympics, Meaghan was still attending Gilroy.
