Opinion: State school children in poor suburbs shouldn’t be disadvantaged

PARENTS are going to extreme lengths to secure school places in affluent suburbs, but shouldn’t all public schools be equal?

• Brisbane’s in-demand schools
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THE state schools in Brisbane’s Ascot, Wilston and St Lucia have more in common than parents willing to go to extremes to secure a place for their out-of-catchment child.

They are in affluent suburbs where the median price for a three-bedroom house shoots north of $1.2 million.

Why should it be that these schools are deemed the best?

Shouldn’t a quality state education be available to all students, regardless of how much money their parents make or where they live?

As parents spent up to 48 hours camped outside Ascot State School in the hope of snaring a coveted spot for their child, the inequality in educational opportunity becomes shamefully obvious.

Over the years I’ve been invited into many classrooms across southeast Queensland to speak about journalism, and I can tell you that the difference between those in Ascot and Woodridge, for example, in the comparatively disadvantaged area of Logan, is stark.

The children are no less deserving of an education, yet the resources are far from equal. (So is parental involvement, but that’s another story.)

Parents lining up to secure an enrolment spot at Ascot State School.

Let’s take Ascot. It has a superlative music program and swim program, and links to tertiary institutions and key Queensland academies.

In addition to a 25m heated swimming pool, assembly hall, several playgrounds, tennis courts, music rooms, a covered games court and library, it has a dedicated STEAM (science technology engineering art maths) room and a computer laboratory.

All classrooms are equipped with the latest digital devices, electronic whiteboards, and wireless coverage across the school “for learning anytime and any place”, according to the MySchool website.

The majority of state schools in Queensland can only dream of such resources.

Not surprisingly, teaching jobs in schools like Ascot are the most highly sought after — and predictably, only the best teaching graduates and most experienced teachers make the cut.

Again, the inequality of resources — and the corresponding educational outcome — becomes evident.

Ascot is a consistent high achiever in NAPLAN results, with its Year 3 and 5 students outstripping national averages in literacy and numeracy.

These children come from backgrounds deemed to be privileged. According to the Index of Community Socio-Educational Advantage, Ascot has 68 per cent of students in the top quarter and only 2 per cent in the bottom, against the national average of 25 per cent respectively.

At Woodridge, the reverse is true, with only 2 per cent in the top quarter, and 76 per cent in the bottom. Woodridge says it is committed to “improving the life chances of children”.

Ascot, meanwhile, describes itself as “a school of choice because of its commitment to excellence, love of teaching and learning, achievements, proud traditions and our belief that all students deserve a personally-rewarding and quality education that focuses on each child’s social, emotional, physical and academic development”.

The reality is, Ascot and the few others like it, are schools of choice only for those fortunate enough to live in the catchment.

Other kids are forced to accept what their area offers — unless their parents can stump up for private school fees — and a first-class primary education becomes a hit and miss affair.

While it is terrific to see certain schools doing well, more energy and money must be spent on improving the state educational offering across the board.

Every Queensland child deserves the chance to excel.