Plan to take on ‘fraudster’ parents at elite school

RAMPANT enrolment fraud at a prominent Brisbane high school could be tackled by reviving a 40-year-old school policy.

A RETURN to the 1980s model of “feeder’’ schools could help stamp out rampant enrolment “fraud’’ at Brisbane State High School, its Past Students’ Association (PSA) says.

PSA registrar, Barry Irwin, said Education Queensland should revisit the 1988 BSHS policy which allowed students enrolled in local state primary schools to be admitted to BSHS, if their parents also lived in the catchment.

The PSA has written to state Labor MP for South Brisbane, Jackie Trad, and Education Minister, Grace Grace, to suggest the plan.

Mr Irwin said if the Government’s preferred Dutton Park site for a new inner-south high school went ahead, the enrolment policy for both secondary campuses could be modified so local primary school students would be accepted into either BSHS or Dutton Park, depending on which was closer.

He said something had to be done to fix widespread defrauding of the BSHS local enrolment policy.

Brisbane State High School in South Brisbane.

A KPMG report commissioned by the Government in 2016 found about 20 per cent of parents moved out of the catchment within two years of their children being enrolled at BSHS.

Some students accepted as “local’’ commute from as far as 40km away.

“There is a clear pattern of ‘unusual’ enrolments in catchment for short periods,’’ KPMG concluded.

Mr Irwin said the problem had exploded in recent years and was likely now even worse than in 2016.

“From 2002 to 2015, the number of students who were enrolled at State High as local area residents averaged less than 25 per cent,’’ he said.

But in 2016 the local area intake had soared to 57 per cent of the school’s total enrolment.

“This dramatic increase cannot be attributed to development and population increase alone.

“We need an integrated enrolment management policy for the two primary schools and the two high schools. At the moment it’s done individually.

“I am also suggesting a 1km radius for the purpose of defining the catchment area for each high school. “They are 2km apart so there would be no overlap.’’

The Past Students’ Association has floated a plan to tackle enrolment “fraud’’ at Brisbane State High School.

He said the new high school could accept out-of-catchment students, on merit entry, as does State High. But the proposal would work best if Dutton Park were to become Prep to Year 12, an option the State Government was not currently considering.

This could be a benefit to the new high school, particularly in its formative first few years.

Mr Irwin said his proposed enrolment policies would slow growth in student numbers at both high schools, at least until West End State School reached about 1600-1700 students, and Dutton Park State School reached about 1500.

“With the implementation of PSA’s enrolment management policy, the need to cap local enrolments at State High, as reported in the media recently, which was rejected by Education Minister Grace Grace, would not be necessary,’’ he said.

Education Minister Grace Grace. Picture: AAP/Ric Frearson

He accepted that parents could still “rort’’ a feeder school policy by moving to the peninsula for a short period, enrolling their children at one of the local primary schools and then moving out, but said it would put an extra hurdle in their way.

The proposal would also mean those legitimately living in West End and attending its state school would have automatic entry to BSHS and would not need to find a safe, viable travel route to Dutton Park.

“A City Circle-type dedicated school bus service to the (Dutton Park site) should be investigated to provide a safe transport option to the complex,’’ he said.

Education Queensland did not respond to requests for comment.