Brisbane private schools are opening up more Year 5 places to offer earlier senior school entry point

More Brisbane private schools are starting to take enrolments of Year 5 students, a move some say will strip per head student allocation funding from public schools.

A surge in demand for private school places will see multiple elite Brisbane colleges boost their enrolments to include more primary school aged kids next year.

But experts say earlier admission into private schools – which charge parents thousands of dollars in fees each year – could increase funding pressure on state primary schools.

Clayfield’s St Rita’s College will offer places to about 75 Year 5 students next year for the first time with Year 6 included by 2023 – an extra 150 primary school students on top of their current Year 7-12 intake.

St Ritas College is one of the schools moving to increase Year 5 enrolments.

All Hallows’ School was expected to add an extra two Year 5 classes in 2022, or about 50 more students.

The girls’ schools follow in the footsteps of several private boys’ colleges, including Brisbane Boys’ College and St Joseph’s College Gregory Terrace, which offer enrolments from Year 5.

Coeducation school St Paul’s School Bald Hills will also add an extra Year 5 class next year due to demand.

Meanwhile St Aidan’s Anglican Girls’ School has seen a surge in demand for Year 5 places, though principal Toni Riordan said they didn’t yet intend to add additional classes.

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“We are able to accommodate (earlier enrolments) at this point in time, but foresee that Year 5 will become a major entry point for St Aidan’s, as it is already with many boys schools,” Ms Riordan said.

Deakin University’s senior education lecturer Emma Rowe said increased Year 5 and 6 enrolments at private schools would have a significant impact on state primary schools, given funding allocations are determined by the number of students.

“This way of funding affects our whole education system, and absolutely there’s a flow on effect,” she said.

Clayfield’s St Rita’s College will offer places to about 75 Year 5 students next year.

“But parents start to get some of that pressure in Year 4 – there is this feeling that if you don’t snap up a place when it’s on offer, then you’re not going to have a spot.

“The whole marketisation of the (school) system is a really big concern.”

Queensland Association of State School Principals president Leslie Single agreed the rise of earlier private admissions would add funding pressure to those state schools.

But she said the offer of an earlier enrolment could tempt families to exit the state system earlier than predicted.

“If a family is wanting to send their child to a private education in secondary school, and they are guaranteed a place if they enrol from Year 5, then that would surely impact on a family’s thinking,” she said.

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“Of course there will be certain financial impacts of that decision.”

An increase of private schools expanding into primary years also comes at a time when financial pressure on some independent schools was expected to increase, as a new model of federal funding allocation is introduced.

Under the new scheme, the amount of federal funds will be calculated via the direct income of parents with children at the school, rather than the economic status of the schools’ area.

It has been predicted many private schools in high-income areas will receive less funding as a result, prompting speculation schools will increasingly look to boost enrolment numbers and therefore, tuition fees.

All Hallows’ School is expected to add an extra two Year 5 classes in 2022, or about 50 more students.

With tuition fees set at $8600 per year, St Rita’s College would rake in about $645,000 in the first year alone if every place is filled.

An extra 50 Year 5 students at All Hallows’ School paying $12,520 would equate to a further $626,000 in tuition fees.

St Rita’s principal Dale Morrow said the school had not made the decision for financial reasons, but was instead “providing families with greater choice for their daughter”.

“Our research was clear that girls will thrive in an all girls’ environment,” she said.

Ms Morrow said no new major building works would be required at the school, and it would still accept a Year 7 intake, with more places available at that age.

St Paul’s School Bald Hills headmaster Paul Browning said Year 5 was an “important milestone” for many parents, and the structure of the school allowed younger students to enjoy opportunities such as being junior school leaders.

Mum Nicki Hopley will send her son Max to St Paul’s for Year 5 next year, and said one of the reasons she chose the school was because there were still younger students on campus.

“I wanted a school in which students in Year 5 aren’t placed into an environment with students who are almost adults,” she said.

“That can be daunting for younger students.”