From elite independent to large public schools, here are some of the big players.

Tomorrow we reveal where they rank alongside politicians, union leaders, industry bosses and other school and university leaders in The Courier-Mail’s exclusive top 50 Education Power List.

POWER 100: Queensland’s most powerful people 100-51

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PROPERTY: Queensland’s 60 most powerful property players

MONDAY: The Education Power List

THURSDAY: Queensland’s Top 50 Most Powerful

Scroll to the bottom to read how we selected the list

JACINDA EULER

Brisbane Girls Grammar School principal

Highly respected, she’s made a name for herself by driving the performance of the state’s top girls’ school even higher over the past decade.

Jacinda Euler also mixes with Queensland’s movers and shakers who entrust her with their children’s education.

Her power comes from not only the role she is paid well to do – Euler is the highest-earning grammar school principal in the state – but through her connections within and outside the education sector.

WADE HAYNES

Brisbane State High School executive principal

In a state-run system where the voices of unionists ring loudly and many principals say they feel unheard, Wade Haynes is a person whose opinions are taken seriously by the education department.

He has been at BSHS for 11 years and there are few public state high schools more in demand, and certainly none with a better academic reputation.

BSHS records similar academic results to the top private schools, while managing a student population of more than 3000.

KAREN SPILLER

Independent Schools Queensland chair

This well-known principal, who will retire from John Paul College at the end of the year, heads the peak body for independent schools – which are responsible for educating 16 per cent of all school-age children in Queensland.

Spiller is also a member of the QUT Council and former long-serving principal of St Aidan’s Anglican Girls’ School in Corinda.

JOHN KINNIBURGH

Toowoomba Grammar School headmaster

As head of this prestigious Darling Downs institution, favoured by many of Queensland’s most famous farming families, John Kinniburgh is also in a powerful position as chair of the GPS Association, especially given the fierce rivalry between member schools.

ANTHONY MICALLEF

Brisbane Grammar School headmaster

As head of Queensland’s most expensive independent school, Anthony Micallef mingles with some of the state’s most influential people who choose BGS for their children.

The power of the school itself also influences the sector. With its stellar academic results and state-of-the-art facilities, BGS – like sister school Brisbane Girls Grammar – is seen as an aspirational benchmark against which other schools measure their outcomes.

LLEW PAULGER

Kelvin Grove State College executive principal

A passionate advocate for his patch, Llew Paulger is responsible for one of the largest cohorts of students in the country.

As executive principal he has overseen a number of Queensland’s most significant state school projects, including the opening of a new $17.7m Queensland Ballet Academy and $8.7m junior school facility.

ANTHONY LANSKEY

Gympie State High School principal

With a career in Education Queensland spanning more than three decades, Anthony Lanskey has also made his mark in rugby league as the president of Australian Secondary Schools Rugby League.

He has nurtured a love of the game in young people, not only in his Wide Bay-Burnett region but across the state.

ROS CURTIS

St Margaret’s Anglican Girls’ School principal

Under Ros Curtis, this elite pre-prep to Year 12 Ascot school has grown from fewer than 800 students to more than 1300, with it rocketing up the NAPLAN and academic leaderboards.

Curtis is also chair of the state branch of the Australian Heads of Independent Schools

Association and a director of Independent Schools Queensland.

PHILLIP MOULDS

Rockhampton Grammar School headmaster

Phillip Moulds is one of the state’s most well-connected school leaders, having spent 18 years at Brisbane Grammar School before moving to Rockhampton in 2009. RGS is Queensland’s largest boarding school, with some of the state’s most illustrious families choosing it for their children.

Moulds will wield even more influence in 2023 as the new chair of Independent Schools Queensland.

ANDREW PEACH

Marsden State High School executive principal

After a lauded transformation of Marsden State High School as its executive principal, Andrew Peach is now driving the growth of rugby league in Queensland schools as the NRL Schools participation manager.

Although Peach has taken leave from the Department of Education for the new role, his influence at Marsden remains strong. Under Peach, the Logan school reversed its high-turnover rate of teachers and the number of student suspensions fell while its academic performance improved greatly.

ALAN CAMPBELL

Anglican Church Grammar School headmaster

Serving as headmaster of “Churchie” since 2014 and deputy headmaster for eight years prior, Alan Campbell is a well-known face in Queensland education circles.

He is a director of Independent Schools Queensland and of the college council of St John’s College at the University of Queensland.

HOW DID WE DETERMINE THE LISTS?

Firstly, The Courier-Mail senior leadership team engaged the newsroom – reporters on the ground and in the know, those whose job it is to cover these sectors every single day.

The leadership team then used its combined years of experience and extensive contacts to brainstorm more names, adding and culling – all the while consulting with external experts and trusted sources in relevant fields.

We have excluded current executives and editors of News Corp, The Courier-Mail, Foxtel and Fox Sports. That is because News Corp Australia is the publisher of The Courier-Mail, and owns 65 per cent of Foxtel.

We understand that any such list is bound to be subjective, and is by no means exhaustive – but this list is as accurate a one as possible to produce in terms of where things are right now.

It is a unique insight into who calls the shots in Queensland. And as a subscriber it is yours exclusively.

But remember that power is more often than not temporary. Who plays large in 2022 might not be so powerful in 2023. Watch this space.