Many of Brisbane’s inner-city Catholic schools fielding surging enrolment demands

Catholic schools across Brisbane’s inner-suburbs are experiencing a surge in demand for places, with a push to reopen a prestigious historic college to help cope.

BRISBANE’S Catholic schools are bursting at the seams in parts of the inner-city, with parents forced to face long waiting lists or turn to state schools alternatives.

Analysis by The Courier-Mail shows multiple Catholic schools including Hawthorne’s Lourdes Hill College and Kangaroo Point’s St Joseph’s Primary School have seen their enrolments jump by more than 25 per cent from 2013 to 2018.

– Queensland’s top teachers named

– Minister warns kids: protest on your own time

Meanwhile enrolments at St Laurence’s College in South Brisbane grew by more than 20 per cent, St Joseph’s College Gregory Terrace by 17 per cent and Indooroopilly’s Brigidine College by 16 per cent.

Students at Lourdes Hill College, which has seen a growth in enrolments. Picture: Supplied

But the growth may not be enough to get supporters passionately lobbying for the reopening of the historic Marist Brothers College Rosalie the result they want.

Brisbane Catholic Education’s acting executive director Doug Ashleigh said demand was outstripping enrolments in certain areas, and “was particularly high in the inner-city and city-fringe areas”.

“A number of Brisbane Catholic Education schools and independently-operated Catholic schools have wait-lists,” he said.

There are currently about 306 Catholic schools in Queensland, with about 149,000 students.

Inner-city public high schools Brisbane State High School and Kelvin Grove State College have seen their student numbers surge by at least 30 per cent in five years.

Marist Brothers College Rosalie operated for 80 years before its controversial closure in 2008. Picture: Supplied

Dr Ashleigh shut down Marist Brothers College Rosalie potentially reopening to cope with demand.

The high-profile school operated for 80 years before controversially closing to much protest in 2008.

The Courier-Mail understands there would be a meeting held next week to discuss the potential future for the parish-owned site, which is now partly known as the Lavalla Centre.

Supporters of reopening at the Fernberg Road site said it was “shortsighted” for the school to be closed in the first place, and that the growth in demand among inner-city suburbs should have been predicted.