Immanuel College (Australia)


Immanuel College, is a Lutheran school in Adelaide, South Australia – a co-educational day and boarding school from Year 7 to 12, offering the International Baccalaureate Middle Years Programme. Located in Novar Gardens, South Australia. Established in 1895, the College is a school of the Lutheran Church of Australia. It is the only Lutheran college in Adelaide that has boarders. Its sister schools include Johann-Sebastian-Bach-Gymnasium in Windsbach, Germany and Kyushu Lutheran College in Kumamoto, Japan.

History

Immanuel College was founded in 1895 at Point Pass, before its subsequent move to North Adelaide in 1921. The founder was Pastor Georg Leidig and his eldest son Paul taught there from 1950 until 1956. During WWII, the buildings were required by the Air Force, and the college was forced to temporarily move to North Walkerville for the period 1942–1946. In 1949, land at Novar Gardens was acquired from the Morphett family property 'Cummins', and the school was eventually established there in 1957.
Cummins House was sold to the State Government in 1977, and Immanuel College leased that property for 5 years from 1982 to 1987.

Sports centre

To celebrate the 50th anniversary of its Novar Gardens campus, Immanuel College upgraded the school gymnasium. The sports centre includes a heated 25-metre 10-lane indoor swimming pool, a heated 15-metre by 6-metre hydrotherapy and learners pool, 3 indoor courts and a dance studio. A primary school oval was converted into the indoor basketball courts, and an existing auditorium and a new dance classroom were integrated into the new centre. Completed in 2008, the centre operates as an educational facility during the day, and as a community sports centre after hours.

The Margaret Ames Centre

The Margaret Ames Centre, named after an old scholar and ex-teacher, was opened in 2015 as the senior school for students in Years 10, 11 and 12. It includes classrooms, study areas, a cafe called "Wings Cafe", and a university style theatre called "The Otto Theatre". It has library access and has 4 floors. It is a modern looking building unattached from the old style of the middle school. The Margaret Ames Centre cost $14.9m AUD at the time of construction.

Boarding

Immanuel has a long history of boarding, commencing with its inception as an exclusively boarding school at Point Pass in 1895. In the 21st century, Immanuel has boarding facilities for both males and females. In 2019 the College has beds for 170 students, accommodation is in a main double storey building, self-contained units and eight fully equipped houses. The houses are named after the word for "Peace" in various languages – Heiwa, Pengon, Tangokorro, Frieden, Shalom, Koinonia, Sama and Rahu.

Notable alumni

Sports