Hervey Bay schools’ shock ranking in Qld suspension data revealed

Despite having smaller student populations, two Hervey Bay primary schools have outranked larger schools to claim spots in Queensland’s top 10 for suspension rates.

Despite having smaller student populations, two Hervey Bay primary schools have outranked larger schools to claim spots in Queensland’s top 10 for suspension rates. FILE PHOTO

Two Hervey Bay primary schools have been shoved into the spotlight after their behavioural results data was released to the public.

An exclusive analysis of that data revealed disciplinary absences were down last year on 2023 – from 22,430 down to 21,516 – but these two schools still ranked highly in suspension rates.

Torquay and Pialba State Schools both made it into the top 10 for highest suspension rate per 100 students across Qld in 2024, beating out public schools with much larger populations.

Torquay State School came in with the fifth largest suspension rate in the state at 46.67 per cent from 180 enrolments, while Pialba State School was sixth with a rate of 45.63 per cent from 412 enrolments.

Torquay State School had a staggering suspension rate of 46.67 per cent in 2024, the worst figure on the Fraser Coast.

Torbanlea State School also featured high on the list with an absence rate of 24.06 per cent while the Maryborough school with the highest suspension rate was Granville State School, scoring 19.35 per cent from 217 enrolments.

The school on the Fraser Coast with the most total suspensions was also Pialba State School, recording 188 in 2024.

Eight Hervey Bay public schools, including Howard and Torbanlea, averaged a suspension rate of 18.31 per cent.

Maryborough primary schools scored significantly lower compared to their northern counterparts with a rate of 7.18 per cent from nine schools.

Not all statistics were negative, however, as there was only one expulsion across the Fraser Coast last year, which took place at Tinana State School.

Tinana State School was the only school to record an expulsion on the Fraser Coast in 2024.

The statewide trend is that expulsions are down across the board, dropping from 1743 in 2023 to 1568 in 2024.

Some schools also had a decline in suspension rates.

They included Pialba State School, Sandy Strait State School, Maryborough Central State School, Maryborough West State School, Sunbury State School, Tinana State School, and Mungar State School.