Merici College

"One of the worst schools in Canberra. The teachers are way to focused on how the girls look and everything is about their appearance. The school itself is terrible as well. It's freezing in the winters as their too concerned about saving money. The teachers also belittle the students and treat them like 5 year olds. There are also several stupid rules that the students have to follow such as, no going indoors during lunch and recess even though it is freezing outside, you cannot wear any logos, you cannot wear leggings outside of school, etc. The school is also EXTREMELY over populated as the amount of year 7s that are accepted grows every year. PLEASE DO NOT SEND YOUR KIDS HERE!!!"

"COLD IN WINTER!!! this school is super inconsiderate through the clothing policy's, especially through this winter climate crisis. Making us pay for LEGGINGS, then not allowing it to be worn is feral. THEN in winter, my daughter was cold so she decided to wear a school hoodie, bought from the school, but is not allowed to wear it during school hours nor outside of school. Additionally the teachers through this situation were mean and not representing their IB learning motto of caring. Not being considerate to students who are wearing less layers during the winter then them. Plus the sitting inside rule is complete nonsence, not allowing students to sit inside in a windy or very cool day despite teachers being in the heated rooms with their extra layers is just rude. Plus many teachers are quite bias depending on the students, whether they like them or not. I will inform that this is just a bunch of unnessassary drivel, away from the education being told that us parents are paying for (which by the way is high). Getting rid of nice teachers that do not deserve it and the unnecassary harsh markings. Consideration towards the nice areas of the school, but, I would love; as a parent and guardian for there to be change within these working environments."

"Bullying runs rampant. No heating around the school because its so poor, this is due to the lack of students attending this school. The few students there leave after a year or two due to the bullying. The previous principal was committing tax fraud, while the new principal is actually quite kind, the school is beyond fixing. Also ridden with homophobia. So much arrogance and malice, do not send your girls there."

"I regret sending my children to this school, and pulled them both out last year due to bullying and a big lack of educational values from the staff here. Merici used to have a good reputation, but recently this has taken a turn. Ranging from very little, to no communication whatsoever, the staff seem to be either miserable and overworked or get a kick out of being in an authoritarian position and use it to their advantage. Last year I witnessed a teacher screaming at, and pulling a child by their collar after an assembly I attended. Absolutely no excuse for this behaviour, and when I made a complaint I never heard back from the school. Don't send your children here!"

"Merici college is a horrible school. Myself and my sister were both targeted and bullied by the teachers and teaching leadership when we attended high school here, to the point where we both dropped out and attended other schools. This is not to mention the terrible occurrences of students bullying and beating each other without consequence. I can see from recent reviews that the school has not taken it upon themselves improve at all over the years since I left this school. I would suggest the development and implementation of a structured, consistent and cohesive anti bullying policy, with consequences, however, it seems the teaching staff are not as passionate about their job to put in place protective procedures to benefit the well-being of their student who attend school here. The educational and learning aspects of the school are equally as terrible, and I am still recovering from what little mathematical knowledge I was taught while attending Merici College, to the point where I still struggle to complete year 7 level mathematical equations. This is not for lack of trying, but because of regular bullying from teachers who called me 'dumb' and 'useless', throughout my time here, particularly in maths class, I developed a server maths anxiety that I am still struggling with today. There is no tutoring groups offered, despite the fees this school feels entitled to charge parents, and if it is seen that students are falling behind, little is offered in terms of help. If you are considering sending your child to this school, I strongly advise you consider somewhere else."