Top Brisbane girls’ school to add Years 5/6 students

One of Brisbane’s best private schools will add Years 5 and 6 to its line-up and is planning to build a new junior school precinct for the extra students. SEE WHAT’S PLANNED

Toowong Catholic girls’ secondary school, Stuartholme, will take students in Year 5 for the first time from 2024 as the first intake in its new Junior School.

Acting Principal, Danny Crump, said the introduction of Year 5 in 2024, followed by Year 6 in 2025, would provide students with a tailored Junior School program.

Plans were under way to begin construction next year on a dedicated Junior School precinct which would include classrooms, toilets and an outdoor play and recreation area.

Mr Crump said the students would be given a “rich sense of community and belonging, underpinned by the school’s Sacred Heart charism (spiritual gifts used for the service of the community)’’.

“The addition of Years 5 and 6 will bring a wonderful new community to Stuartholme School,’’ he said.

Acting Stuartholme principal, Danny Crump.

“In a safe, caring, and warm environment, these students will have an opportunity to understand who they are, how they belong and learn, alongside their own leadership capabilities.

“We know that the early years of education provide the foundation to successful and lifelong learning.

“With the introduction of Years 5 and 6, our students will have a seamless progression from the Junior School into the Secondary School.”

He said the Junior School precinct would “maximise student learning outcomes’’.

“At the same time, students will have access to Stuartholme’s already expansive range of facilities including swimming pool, netball and tennis courts, library, Technologies Precinct, art studios and design technology rooms,” he said.

The news comes after it was revealed last month that the school’s highly respected principal, Kristen Sharpe, had retired after six-and-a-half years due to health reasons.

A search was on for a new principal with Mr Crump, who was deputy principal, acting in the role.

The school also revealed in March that it had plans for a major sports facility on the old Freer’s Farm site adjoining the school.

Stuartholme, which celebrated its centenary in 2020, takes day and boarding students and regularly tops the state for NAPLAN results and sporting achievement.

It won several major awards for its online teaching module, which was developed to help students learn remotely during lockdown.

To find out more about Year 5 and 6, and to apply, visit: www.stuartholme.com