Full list: Queensland’s wealthiest schools revealed

Queensland’s wealthiest schools raked in a combined income of almost $2.15 billion, new data reveals. SEARCH YOUR SCHOOL

Queensland’s wealthiest schools raked in a combined income of almost $2.15 billion, an increase of around $148 million compared to the previous year, new data reveals.

The state also has a new richest school, with Brisbane Grammar dethroned after minimal change to its income year on year, and King’s Christian College on the Gold Coast surging into top spot after boosting its annual revenue by more than $10m.

Kings Christian College in Pimpama is Queensland’s wealthiest school. Picture Mike Batterham

Further analysis also reveals that the State and Federal governments are pouring more money into these 50 richest schools with government funding now accounting for around 58 per cent of the schools’ combined income, up from around 49 per cent the previous year.

Given that most of Queensland’s 50 wealthiest are private schools, the new data further emphasises the need for an overhaul of the National Schools Reform Agreement.

A report published last month by economist Adam Rorris found Queensland is one of the worst states in the country for underfunding public schools and overfunding private schools.

The NSRA is a deal between the Commonwealth, States and Territories to improve student outcomes in Australian schools, including how much taxpayer funding each school needs.

The current agreement will expire on December 31, 2024 and is the subject of an ongoing review by the Federal Education Minister and all State and Territory Education Ministers.

Federal Education Minister Jason Clare and former State Education Minister Grace Grace have pledged during NSRA negotiations to make the necessary changes to ensure every Queensland state school can get the minimum level of funding needed to meet the needs of their students.

The financials – sourced from The Australian Curriculum, Assessment and Reporting Authority’s MySchool database – show each school’s 2022 annual income and the sources. School financials are always a year behind, with the 2022 data only released this month.

King’s Christian College in Reedy Creek was the state’s second richest school for 2021, but tops the list for 2022 with $75.04m in income, thanks to their State and Federal Government funding increasing by around $5m and their fee revenue growing by almost $4m.

Brisbane Grammar’s income barely changed, landing on $68.03m. The third, fourth and fifth wealthiest – St Peters Lutheran, Anglican Church Grammar, and Brisbane Girls Grammar – remain the same as the previous year, despite each boosting their revenue by $2m-3m.

Brisbane Grammar School raked in $68.03m last year. Picture: AAP Image/Josh Woning

King’s Christian College has grown rapidly in recent years and had 3894 students in 2022 across three campuses - two on the Gold Coast and one at Logan.

In comparison, Brisbane Grammar has one campus and its enrolments have seen small growth, sitting at 1810 in 2022. It’s a similar story for St Peter’s Lutheran (2239 students) and Anglican Church Grammar (1842 students). Both have grown slowly compared to King’s.

Other notable year on year differences were The Southport School which boosted its income by almost $5m in 2022, largely thanks to a $2.7m increase in fee revenue.

Marsden State High School finished with over $9m extra in 2022, taking a total of $50.81m. The increase was mostly down to a boost in government funding.

Elsewhere, Stretton State College and Mansfield State High School both posted revenue jumps in excess of $5m compared to 2021 data, while St Joseph’s College Gregory Terrace boosted its revenue by around $4.5m.

Meanwhile, Meridan State College’s annual income shrunk by around $500,000 and Emmanuel College made around $770,000 less. Both remain in the top 50 despite this.

A number of schools who featured in the 50 wealthiest list based on 2021 financial data are no longer in the top 50 this time around, despite increasing their annual income. These include West Moreton Anglican College, Canterbury College, Sheldon College, Townsville Grammar School, Kirwan State High School, and Moreton Bay College.