Townsville private school fees revealed

Analysis  of Townsville private school fees has revealed all but one school increased its tuition fees in 2020.

Most private school fees in Townsville have risen for 2020.

ANALYSIS  of Townsville private school fees has revealed all but one school increased its tuition fees in 2020.

Annandale Christian College was the only school to keep fees steady this year with 13 others increasing fees between 1.3-4.9 per cent.

All Souls St Gabriel’s School in Charters Towers kept its primary fees steady while increasing fees for high school students.

The only school to drop any of its fees was Columba Catholic College, also in Charters Towers.

Calvary Christian College and St Patrick’s College increased tuition fees by more than double the Australian inflation rate, which is 1.82 per cent.

On top of tuition fees some parents are having to fork out extra money for contributions to school building funds, locker levies, compulsory lunch costs and even special elective subject levies for hospitality practices, visual arts and even product design.

Cindy and Brad Gugliotti are parents to four girls who all attend private schools in Townsville.

Three girls attend St Patrick’s College and one daughter goes to St Joseph’s Catholic School The Strand.

The combined tuition fees for the four girls cost almost $20,000 a year.

Ms Gugliotti said the family managed their finances to afford the yearly increases.

“Everything goes up and our wages go up so we pay school fees fortnightly,” she said. “It eases the burden of having a massive chunk of money due all at once.”

Ms Gugliotti said she understood the extra levies were part of her girls’ schooling. “It is just part of the parcel when you do a private education and I expect all of those extra things,” she said.

“We do feel the pinch but it is a decision we have made for the best interest of our girls and we make those sacrifices.”

Out of all the Townsville region schools, only one has decreased its fees this year.

Columba Catholic College in Charters Towers dropped its fees by 12 per cent in 2020 for primary school children and kept their high school tuition steady.

School principal Candi Dempster said the reduction was an acknowledgment of the sign of the tough times the region was going through.

“It is affordability for families in the season in floods and drought and we want to relieve the burden of families so they can maintain and access quality education,” she said.

How your school fees compare

Annandale Christian College ’s school fees remained steady in 2020 with Years 7-12 fees costing $5900 and Years 3-6 fees costing $4750, which includes a $550 building levy per family.

Calvary Christian College ’s tuition fees for Years 11-12 increased 4.9 per cent this year to $5630 from $5360.

Fees for Year 7–10 students increased 4.9 per cent in 2020 to $5260 from $5010 in 2019. Year 7 students also attract an extra cost of $1950 for a compulsory class trip to Canberra.

There’s also a $100 application fee for new families, but a 2.5 per cent discount on tuition fees if paid in a lump sum.

There’s also a compulsory $150 ‘PiP levy’ for all students — the Parents in Partnership levy encouraging parent participation is refundable for five hours’ volunteer work by parents.

St Patrick’s College ’s annual fees increased 4.3 per cent in 2020 with Years 7-10 increasing to $5200 from $4980 and Years 11-12 increasing to $5385 from $5160.

Townsville Grammar School ’s tuition fees have increased 3 per cent, with Years 7-12 now $12,752 at the North Ward campus a year and Prep-Year 6 students costing $9476 a year at the Annandale campus. Tuition fees from Prep-Year 6 at the North Shore campus costs $6492 a year.

The school also has an enrolment application fee of $110 and confirmation fee of $300 for new students, as well as a ‘general purpose levy’ of $400 a year for all students.

Townsville Grammar School is offering a Family Fee Cap, for full-fee paying students from Prep-Year 12. This means the maximum a family will pay for Tuition is $26,650 a year no matter how many children are enrolled from Prep-Year 12 across our three Campuses.

Annual fees at Ryan Catholic College have increased 1.3 per cent for the second year running. Primary schoolers cost $3460 from $3416 in 2019 a year and secondary school tuition increased from $4976 to $5040 a year in 2020.

Tuition fees at St Anthony’s Catholic College increased 1.4 per cent for primary school students in 2020, costing $3150 for the year while secondary school students increased 1.5 per cent costing $4314. The fees include a tuition fee, school-based levy and building fund.

Annual tuition fees at St Margaret Mary’s College increased 2.8 per cent to $2340 for all students. In addition to this yearly cost, there is a school based levy of $1970 per student for teaching materials, most excursions, camp costs, career activities etc There is also a compulsory family levy of $620 a family to help service the college’s loans on buildings and maintain buildings and grounds.

In addition to college fees, a Diocesan Levy of $10 a family per annum is billed on Term 1 statement. The total cost for a student to attend the college is $4940.

St Joseph’s Catholic School on The Strand has increased its diocesan fee by 2.9 per cent for 2020, up to $1560 for the year.

There are additional annual levies to the main school fees, including a $628 building fund levy (per family), $433 cleaning levy (per family), $594 resource levy (per child), $124 computer levy (per child) and $30 excursion levy (per child) – bringing the total fee for the year up to $3369 for one child.

Holy Spirit School ’s fees jumped 1.4 per cent for the second year in a row charging $3264 for 2020. This includes $1304 in school levies and $400 capital works levy.

The Marian School ’s tuition fees rose 2.9 per cent at $1560 in 2020. In addition to the fee, a $740 development levy, $784 resource levy and $10 P&F levy is applicable.

Southern Cross Catholic School ’s fees rose by 2.25 per cent in 2020, increasing to $2898 from $2834 for primary students. Fees for secondary school children increased 2.4 per cent in 2020, costing $4259 from $4159 in 2019. Fees include a school-based levy and building levy.

St Joseph’s School in Mundingburra increased its fees by 1.5 per cent for the second year running, up to $2920 a year for tuition and levies. A prep levy of $25 is also applied every term.

All Souls St Gabriels School in Charters Towers keep their Prep-Year 6 fees steady in 2020 charging $3825, Year 7 fees increased by 4.4 per cent from $7950 to $8300. There was a 2.7 per cent increase for Years 11-12, up to $9552 for the year, up from $9300 in 2019.

Columba Catholic College Charters Towers reduced school fees for primary school children costing $2100 in 2020 from $2386 in 2019. High school tuition remained steady for 2020 costing $6220. There is also a student levy of $400 that includes a locker levy per student.

A non-tuition fee of $500 is applicable for every family for a compulsory membership for Parents and Friends Association and a College Building Fund.

The Cathedral School of St Anne and St James’s school fees range from $8580 a year for Prep-Year 3 pupils up to $12,530 for seniors (Years 10-12). New enrolments attract a non-refundable application fee of $300 and a confirmation fee of $100.

The Cathedral School also has ‘outdoor education’ fees for an annual camp, which ranges from $180 for Year 2 up to $1520 for Year 10 students.

There are also fees for some elective subjects, ranging from $250 for Years 9-10 for product design technology, $120 for Years 9-11 visual arts and $220 for Years 11-12 hospitality practices.

Our Lady of Lourdes in Ingham has increased its tuition fees by 2.9 per cent to $1560 a year. In addition to tuition, a school levy of $922 is applied for primary students as well as a $80 prep levy.

Blackheath and Thornburgh College in Charters Towers charges between $4000 for Pre Prep up to $10,300 for Years 11-12. There is also a non-refundable application fee of $50 for each new student as well as a $100 enrolment acceptance fee.

There is also a compulsory charge for Years 7-12 of $1480 for day student lunches.

Students that are enrolled in the Arrowsmith Program are charged $3400 for the year.

Ignatius Park College has adopted a single fee for all students and will charge $6190 for tuition in 2020 with optional levies of $240 that can be chosen to be paid by each family.

St Colman’s School Home Hill will charge a tuition fee of $1560 a student for 2020. A resource levy of $360, building levy of $360 and a diocesan levy of $10 is also applicable.

St Teresa’s College at Abergowrie will charge $11,146 a student in Years 7-12 for tuition in 2020 as well as a non-refundable enrolment fee of $75.

Gilroy Santa Maria College in Ingham has not publicly listed tuition fees for 2020 but charged in 2019 $3413 a student in Years 7-12.

Good Shepherd Catholic School has not publicly listed their school fees for 2020, but last year charged $2584 a student in Prep-Year 6 including a resource and building levy.

Burdekin Catholic High School has not publicly listed its school fees for 2020. In 2019 the school charged $3596 for Year 7, $3586 for Years 8-9, $3626 for Year 10, and $3806 for Year 11-12.

The fees included a building levy (per family), subject levy (per student), a voluntary diocesan levy (per family), IT levy (per student) and an apron for Year 7.

St Peter’s School Halifax, Riverside Adventist Christian School, Burdekin Christian College and St Francis School Ayr have not publicly listed their school fees.

Originally published as Townsville private school fees revealed