Fastest growing schools on Brisbane’s southside revealed
The schools in Brisbane’s south which are booming have been revealed. SEE HOW YOUR SCHOOL RATES
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THE schools in Brisbane’s south which are booming have been revealed.
An analysis of Federal Government data has revealed the Brisbane south region schools where student numbers have risen the most in the past five years.
Between 2013 and 2018 enrolment at Wisdom College increased by 378.0 per cent, faster than any other school in the region.
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Enrolment numbers grew from 59 in 2013 to 282 in 2018.
NAPLAN RESULTS 2019: TOP BRISBANE SOUTH SCHOOLS REVEALED
Over those five years Mackenzie State Primary School had the second biggest enrolment boom in the area with 71 more students at the school in 2018 than in 2013 - a 112.7 per cent increase.
The Australian Curriculum, Assessment and Reporting Authority figures are the most up to date enrolment numbers that include all state and private schools nationally.
Sunnybank’s St Thomas More College is ranked fifth on the southside for growth with a 58.7 per cent change.
Principal Les Conroy said interest had “grown significantly in recent years” with Year 7 enrolments now closed for 2020.
Mr Conroy said positions for 2021 were limited and interviews for 2022 and 2023 were well underway.
“Our students come from over 30 primary schools including schools from as far as Jimboomba, Rochedale, Dutton Park and Darra,” he said.
“This is a testament to the exceptional work of our teachers in delivering excellent learning outcomes.
“Parents now have access to a vast amount of information about schools online, and this ultimately influences their preference when selecting a secondary school for their child. Of course, every parent seeks to find a school that has excellent results, a calm learning environment, and motivated, well-presented students.”
HOW OTHER REGIONS COMPARE
SCHOOLS WITH FASTEST GROWTH BETWEEN 2013 AND 2018
-Wisdom College: 378.0 per cent change
-Mackenzie State Primary School: 112.7 per cent change
-Pallara State School: 110.7 per cent change
-Hemmant Flexible Learning Centre: 87.0 per cent change
-St Thomas More College: 58.7 per cent change
-Mansfield State High School: 52.9 per cent change
-Brisbane Christian College: 50.8 per cent change
-Glenala State High School: 48.0 per cent change
-Mount Ommaney Special School: 43.8 per cent change
A Department of Education spokeswoman said the Queensland Government was committed to ensuring all students, no matter where they lived, had access to a range of high quality learning opportunities within their local communities.
State school enrolments continue to grow as Queensland’s population increases.
“The Department of Education actively monitors schools experiencing enrolment growth and works with school communities to ensure that infrastructure needs are met as part of the school’s planning processes. This includes monitoring school capacity and enrolment data, as well as projected enrolment growth across the short, medium and long term to ensure future growth needs are planned for,” she said.
In 2019–2020, the Queensland Government is proud to be investing almost $1.5 billion in state school infrastructure to build, maintain, improve and renew state schools across
Queensland.
See below for the Department of Education’s comments about Pallara State School, Mansfield State High School and Mackenzie State Primary School.
PALLARA STATE SCHOOL
Pallara State School had a Day 8 enrolment count of 594 students in 2019, with a built capacity for 816 students.
The department is investing over $7 million for a new building for Pallara State School with 12 learning spaces to accommodate future growth. The new building will be delivered in 2021.
High levels of residential development and population growth in the Pallara area over the past four years, and a large number of younger families moving in to the area, has driven strong enrolment growth at Pallara State School.
The new Pallara State School was opened in 2016 with state of the art facilities and offers a broad curriculum program including a focused reading and spelling program along with environmental education and a coding and robotics program.
MANSFIELD STATE HIGH SCHOOL
The Day 8 2019 enrolment count at Mansfield State High School was 2797. The school has a built capacity to cater for 3012 students.
Recent enrolment growth at Mansfield State High School has been driven by growth in the number of families living in the suburbs of Mansfield and Wishart and the number of students choosing to attend a state secondary school.
Mansfield State High School has a strong record in delivering a high quality curriculum program and delivering excellent outcomes for its students. The school offers a range of excellence programs in French Immersion, Technology and Music.
Over the past five years, the Queensland Government has invested over $34 million at Mansfield State High School to ensure that it has the contemporary education infrastructure it needs to cater for growth and the range of exciting and innovative programs it has on offer.
The Queensland Government is currently delivering a new $10 million building for Mansfield SHS which includes 16 general learning areas, six flexible learning areas, new staff rooms, change rooms and amenities. This follows the completion of the $7.7 million new two-storey science building, delivering six new general learning areas, one flexible learning area, six science laboratories, staff room and amenities, completed in January this year.
MACKENZIE STATE PRIMARY SCHOOL
On Day 8 2019, there were 141 students attending Mackenzie State Primary School. The school has a built capacity to cater for 184 students.
Over the past five years, some $750,000 has been invested in infrastructure at Mackenzie State Primary School to ensure it is meeting the needs of its growing community.
As a newer school, MacKenzie State Primary has state-of-the-art facilities supporting the delivery of its broad range of quality teaching and learning programs. Alongside the school’s academic curriculum, which has as its focus high expectations for each student, Mackenzie State Primary School offers a creative and rich extra-curricular program including instrumental music, drama, sport and physical activity, student leadership projects, French language and digital technology studies.