Sunshine Coast, Noosa’s cheapest private schools with best ATAR revealed | list

Parents don’t have to pay a fortune to give their children a good education. These private schools on the Sunshine Coast and Noosa are affordable and have top ATAR results.

Sunshine Coast parents don’t always need to pay top dollar for their child to receive the best education with a new investigation identifying the cheapest private schools achieving top academic results.

The Sunshine Coast Daily has compared the region’s most affordable private schools with their ATAR results.

Unlike the previous Queensland Core Skills test, students can choose not to share their results with their school so data for each school might not reflect the entire class.

Some of the fees listed are tuition-only, while others are all-inclusive.

Graduating Queensland students received their ATAR results in December 2021, with many schools congratulating their students success.

Sunshine Coast parents of private school children are forking out on average an extra 3.28 per cent for tuition fees in 2022.

Data released by the Australian Bureau of Statistics shows independent education made up 15.7 per cent of Queensland’s total 867,377 enrolment figures in 2021.

Independent Schools Queensland chief executive Chris Mountford said while ATAR was important, surveys conducted by the peak education body continuously found parents looked at a wide range of factors when it came to choosing the best school for their child.

“Academic results also rate highly, and independent schools are known for providing academic excellence,” Mr Mountford said.

“However, an ATAR is just one piece of a much larger educational picture and parents take a holistic approach to their child’s learning.

“Parents often look at many schools before choosing the school that is the right fit for their child’s personality, talents and abilities.”

The Daily has also looked at the merits of all of the private schools, regardless of their annual fees and their respective ATAR scores.

SCHOOLS WITH LOW FEES AND GREAT ACHIEVEMENTS

St John College, Nambour

Fees for Year 12 in 2022: $5234

Principal: Chris Gould

As the Sunshine Coast’s oldest independent secondary school, St John’s Catholic College has been educating students for the past 80 years.

The College announced in December 2021 that 31 per cent of students received an ATAR of 90 or above, 54 per cent received a result of 80 or higher.

Meanwhile, 74 per cent of students received an ATAR of 70 or higher.

Two students received an ATAR of 97.55, each being offered early entry to their chosen universities.

Nambour’s St John's College principal Chris Gold. Picture: John McCutcheon

St Teresa’s Catholic College, Noosaville

Fees for Year 12 in 2022: $5356

Principal: David McInnes

St Teresa’s Catholic College was established by Brisbane Catholic Education in 2004 and offers students a faith based curriculum of contemporary learning and teaching.

More than 40 per cent of the 2021 cohort received an ATAR higher than 80 while 23 per cent received an ATAR of 90 or above.

Assistant principal Aaron Heffernan said it was a privilege to announce the success of the students who weathered the disruptions of Covid-19.

“Through periods of AEP (online learning), family isolation and disconnect, and adaptation to new protocols and expectations – the students of Year 12 2021 completed their formal schooling demonstrating unwavering resilience and achieving outstanding results,” Mr Heffernan said.

Noosa Christian College, Cooroy

Fees for Year 12 in 2022: $7035

Principal: Jeanette Martin

Noosa Christian College had 11 students complete ATAR in 2021, including Alyssa Brownell who was awarded Secondary College Dux for her academic achievements.

A College spokeswoman said while the school doesn’t reveal students exact ATAR scores due to privacy, the staff were proud of Alyssa and her peers.

The College did confirm Alyssa received an ATAR greater than 95.

“Alyssa has commenced at Queensland University of Technology studying a Bachelor of Physics (Honours Program) and is deciding whether to major in Geophysics, Nanophysics of Astrophysics,” the spokeswoman said.

“Due to privacy we don’t want to reveal her ATAR score, but we can say, it was very impressive.

“Hot on Alyssa’s heels were a number of other students with very high ATAR scores out of a Year 12 cohort of only 11 students in total.

“Big congratulations to those students as well.”

Nambour Christian College, Woombye

Fees for Years 12 in 2022: $8402

Principal: Geoff van der Vliet

Nambour Christian College has been educating Coast students since 1980 with a focus on a Christian based curriculum.

The College announced in March 2022 that more than 35 per cent of ATAR eligible students achieved an ATAR greater than 90, with 13.5 per cent achieving more than 95.

The graduating class also included 34 students who received Vocational Education and Training certificates.

Caloundra Christian College, Caloundra

Fees for Year 12 in 2022: $5850

Principal: Vince Wakefield

Caloundra Christian College was established in 1985 and offers students Christ-centred education with strong foundations for life after school.

While the school does not publish ATAR results, a spokeswoman congratulated the class of 2021 for their academic achievements.

“Many of these students have entered their chosen university courses through attaining the necessary ATAR result and are well on their way to achieving their higher education goals,” she said.

“We are encouraged to see the success of our students in the academic arena and also in trade and commercial industries.”