Gold Coast school numbers: Every school listed as some show big falls

Enrolment numbers have fallen at many Gold Coast state schools, but others are bucking the trend. HOW DOES YOUR LOCAL SCHOOL COMPARE - SEE THE FULL LIST

STATE school enrolments have seen a surprise fall on the Gold Coast, but there are some popular schools where numbers continue to rise.

Figures obtained by the Bulletin showed that enrolments at the city’s state schools dropped 1.37 per cent from 64,229 to 63,351 in the last year.

However some schools are bucking the trend. Palm Beach Currumbin, which is celebrating its fiftieth anniversary this year, continues to grow despite already being the largest high school on the Gold Coast.

In the six months between August 2021 and February this years its total student number has risen from 2594 to 2624.

Nearby Miami State High School has seen an even bigger rise, with numbers up 7.2 per cent from 1460 to 1566.

It is a similar story at Keebra Park State High School, which is renowned for its sporting program. Numbers there are up 7.7 per cent from 993 to 1070.

Picnic Creek State School in Coomera, which opened in 2018 and has been expanding rapidly since, saw numbers rise 7.5 per cent to 882, however few other primary schools saw their numbers increase significantly.

In contrast, many long-established schools saw significant declines.

See the full list below.

FALLING NUMBERS REFLECT PRESSURE ON FAMILIES

Families are being forced out of the Gold Coast by cashed up older migrants from Sydney and Melbourne, who are snapping up property despite soaring prices.

And experts believe it will next affect the workforce, with low-income earners commuting from outside the region to service the wealthy.

New data shows enrolments in state primary schools dropped 2.65 per cent in six months and the number of people aged 60 or over jumped 20 per cent in five years.

Australian Bureau of Statistics figures show the city’s population ballooned almost 12.5 per cent from 2016 to 2021. However, the number of children aged up to four years rose only 1.55 per cent, and children up to 14 years increased 6.25 per cent. In contrast, the population of the 60-plus bracket jumped 20.33 per cent, from 121,610 to 146,341.

Official Department of Education figures reveal enrolments at the city’s state schools dropped 1.37 per cent from 64,229 to 63,351 in the last year.

Analysis by the Bulletin revealed the real blip was at primary schools, where the number of students went from 35,459 to 34,517 between August 2021 and February 2022.

Between 2019 and 2020, state school enrolments rose 3.3 per cent.

Leading demographer Mark McCrindle said the cost of living on the Gold Coast, most especially in housing, was a significant factor in the figures.

The city was gripped by a shortage of development land and an historically low rental vacancy rate, and inflation and interest rates were rising.

“If you have a constrained supply of housing and therefore rising costs you end up self-selecting within that community, within that population, those that can afford to live there,” he said.

“That’s why you’ve got the Gold Coast continuing to edge up on the ageing profile, because it’s the older generations rather than the younger ones that can afford to live there.

“... The cost of living is pricing out young families. Census data points that out.”

Mr McCrindle said data suggested the pressure on Gold Coast families was more acute than the state and national averages.

“On the Gold Coast you have a lower proportion of people who own their home outright than the state and nation average and a higher proportion of renters than the state and national average, so that does give an indication as to the type of accommodation that’s available.

“... Probably two big indicators of the cost pressures of housing is the rental stress numbers and the mortgage stress numbers and that’s also picked up in the census.

“The state average for rental stress (defined as 30 per cent or more of income going to payments) is 32 per cent, and that’s actually the national average as well. On the Gold Coast it’s 42 per cent.

Social researcher Mark McCrindle.

“Similarly with mortgage stress – the Gold Coast is above the state and nation as well. About 11.9 per cent of the state is in mortgage stress, whereas it’s 15.7 per cent on the Gold Coast.

“All of that gives an indication that the house prices, whether it be through mortgage or rental, are above the capacity to pay, certainly relative to the state and national average.

“That therefore is pricing out young families, and that’s why we’re seeing an ageing profile and a challenge around young people in schools.”

Mr McCrindle said the demographic shift would also cause issues for the Gold Coast’s workforce, with people on low incomes commuting long distances to jobs in the city.

“What we are starting to see is satellite cities around the Gold Coast really feed the city in terms of labour and population,” he said.

“Logan is the obvious one there, where you do have the young families, you do have a younger profile and you’ve got more affordability. So some might live in Logan and connect with the Gold Coast a little bit more. And then you’ve got northern NSW as well.

“But the Gold Coast itself, to be that diverse city for the future, is going to need to ensure those young families aren’t priced out.”

Migration by older Australians from Sydney and Melbourne has helped fuel the soaring property prices, with Investorkit Head of Research Arjun Paliwal saying many of those moving north were “bringing forward their retirement plans”.

The Bulletin’s analysis of school enrolments shows some of the biggest falls have been in southern Gold Coast suburbs most popular with retirees.
Those suburbs are also where prices have risen fastest.

At Burleigh Heads, where house prices soared 24 per cent in 12 months to reach a median of $1.45m, enrolments at the local state school are down 11.6 per cent.

Numbers at Elanora State School are down 4.5 per cent.

Schools in other suburbs traditionally popular with families also dropped.

They included Labrador State School (down 8.9 per cent), Helensvale State High School (down seven per cent) and Gaven State School (down 6.9 per cent).

All of those areas have seen steep rises in both house prices and rental costs.

Charities working with low-income families unable to find rentals have previously told the Bulletin they sometimes have to advise clients to look beyond the Gold Coast.

Last November, Uniting Care spokesperson Luke Lindsay he had seen an upsurge in families with young children desperate for a roof over their heads.

“Unfortunately for a lot of the people, the Gold Coast is just not an option for them, they have to look further afield,” Mr Lindsay said.

“They have to look further inland, western Queensland, Ipswich, Toowoomba. They just have to look beyond the Gold Coast.”

NO CHOICE BUT TO GIVE UP ON COAST

A YOUNG family has decided to move to Townsville after failing to find a rental on the Gold Coast.

Stephanie Mackenzie, who is currently in Victoria with five-month-old son Vance, was hoping to join her partner Danny on the Gold Coast where he was working full-time.

But after a fruitless search for somewhere for the young family to live, including appeals for help on social media, they have decided to give up on the city.

“We didn’t really get anyone get back to us,” Ms Mackenzie said. “If we did receive messages it seemed to be like a scam, they only wanted to contact via WhatsApp and their phones weren’t connected.

“We as a family have decided that we’re going to try to move to Townsville instead as rentals are cheaper and it seems like it will be easier to find one.”

Ms Mackenzie she was disappointed to be unable to find somewhere on the Gold Coast, but felt the family had no choice but to reconsider their plans.

“I was a little disappointed as I have family there (on the Coast),” she said. “But I feel as though with the price difference and it being less competitive, it may just be the better option.”

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Originally published as Gold Coast school numbers: Every school listed as some show big falls