Brisbane State High School urged by alumni to retain merit-based entry

A prestigious merit-based entry program that’s produced Olympians, judges and an Immortal which feeds the academic and sporting prowess of Qld’s premier state high school could be snuffed out.

Brisbane State High School is experiencing a surge of in-catchment enrolments.

A prestigious merit-based entry program that feeds the academic and sporting prowess of Queensland’s premier state high school could be snuffed out as demand from in-catchment enrolments rises.

Growing in-catchment enrolments for Brisbane State High School will be prioritised by the Department of Education, with out-of-catchment students, including those selected on merit, to be “managed” to accommodate the demand.

More than 1600 people from the school community, including alumni and Olympian Duncan Armstrong, have banded together via a petition in less than a day to save places for academic and sporting talent from being squeezed out of the school.

Its distinguished list of alumni includes Brisbane 2032 Organising Committee president Andrew Liveris, along with a host of sporting stars rugby league legend Wally Lewis and Supreme Court Justice Peter Applegarth.

Armstrong, who graduated from the school in 1985, attributed its hallowed list of graduates to its merit system and said it would be a “massive mistake” to remove it or reduce it further.

“It’d be a massive step back and a denial of so many talented and gifted young people in Brisbane whose parents might not have the affordability to go to a Nudgee, or Southport School or Terrace,” he said.

Olympian and BSHS alum Duncan Armstrong

Armstrong said removing the merit system could have “significant ramifications” to the 2032 Olympic and Paralympic Games Australian team.

“The Olympics is coming in eight years’ time and Brisbane State High School is going to play a significant role in the results, in gold medals, silver medals and bronze medals, but also in the fabric of the team ...” he said.

“My mother couldn’t afford a GPS school, but my dad, after being a Grammar boy himself back in the 50s, knew the environment and the opportunity that GPS sport and swimming would offer someone like me so at the age of 14, my dad moved the entire family from Rockhampton to Brisbane, so I could attend Brisbane State High School.

As it stands, the merit entry system, otherwise known as Academic Selective Entry, at BSHS selects students based on their order of merit if they are outside the catchment area of the school.

Selective entry places are available to out of catchment enrolments only after the demand for in catchment enrolments has been met.

Brisbane State High School, with a whopping enrolment capacity of 3000 students, has an agreed maximum enrolment capacity of 1000 selective entry students.

About half of selected-entry students are based on academics, 40 per cent on sporting achievements and 10 per cent on cultural (art and music) ability.

Rugby league legend Wally Lewis attended BSHS.

A Department of Education spokesman said there was no plan to remove selective entry at Brisbane State High School.

However, they said in-catchment student enrolment applications took priority and this would continue into the future.

“With recent and future residential growth likely to increase the number of in-catchment students eligible to enrol at Brisbane State High School, out-of-catchment enrolments will be managed to ensure in-catchment students can still attend their local school,” the spokesman said.

“Brisbane State High School is a high-demand school with an outstanding academic, sporting and cultural heritage located in the inner city of Brisbane.

“Like all state schools, its primary purpose is to provide education to students who reside within the school’s catchment.”

BSHS school council member and parent Bryce Corbett said Education Queensland had “slowly but surely” been reducing the percentage of merit entry students.

“At this current trajectory, it will only be a matter of years before there will be no more merit entry and that’s going to completely alter the fabric of the school,” Mr Corbett said.

“It (the school) is just an incubator of excellence, and a lot of that is down to the merit entry and if we get rid of merit entry, the essence of BSHS will be lost.”

Mr Corbett said the council was made aware of the reduction in merit entry after a council discussion on enrolment about four months ago.

He claimed that the council, “upon investigation” discovered an Education Queensland directive to reduce the percentage of merit entry at the school.

Retired judge Peter Applegarth

“We would submit that there’s no reason why you couldn’t make Brisbane State High an academy school, like those schools designated as an academy school, and that would then free the school up to pursue the merit entry that has made it the incredible powerhouse it is,” he said.

Mr Corbett has led a petition to “save Brisbane State High School” which gained more than 1600 signatures in 24 hours.

The petition calls for the Department of Education to reinstate an equal merit and catchment enrolment ratio, designate BSHS as an academy school under the Education Act and for more development of the BSHS site, including more classrooms and another campus in the catchment area due to the projected growth in population.

The Department spokesman said it had invested “significantly and proactively” in infrastructure for Brisbane State High School.

“Over the past decade, this has included $22.4 million (including GST) just in infrastructure projects to accommodate enrolment growth,” they said.

“Limitations on physically expanding the site due to its inner-city location mean that the site has finite capacity and investments in other excellent state schools mean that students can access high quality academic, sporting and cultural programs regardless of where they attend.

“The department’s School Enrolment Management Plans procedure requires principals of state schools which are nearing enrolment capacity to strictly manage enrolments within existing infrastructure provisions.

“Brisbane State High School will communicate any relevant updates directly with their school community.”

Brisbane Olympics president Andrew Liveris