Gold Coast school income: Richest and poorest schools in QLD revealed
New data has revealed the eye-watering amount of money the Gold Coast’s richest and largest schools are raking in. Find out which are the city’s richest and poorest schools.
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THE Gold Coast’s richest and largest schools are raking in more than $100 million over a three-year period, with some parents at the most expensive forking out an average of $17,642 in fees, school statistics reveal.
An independent analysis of school financial records from the MySchool website have shown the massive amount of funding some of the Gold Coast’s largest schools make every year, and how little some schools are forced to scrape by on.
COAST’S BEST FUNDRAISING SCHOOLS REVEALED
The figures revealed The Southport School had a higher gross income than any other school in the Gold Coast region.
The school made a gross income of $116.6 million, according to financial records from the three most recently available years.
An average of a total of $27,707 in income per student in state and federal government funding and fees in 2017.
The region’s second highest funded school was Varsity College, in Varsity Lakes, which had a gross income of $115.4 million. The school, a public independent school, is home to over 3000 students - double the size of TSS - and received an average of $12,790 in funding per student in 2017.
The school with the third highest gross income was All Saints Anglican School, in Merrimac, which made $111.3 million over the three year period.
COAST’S BEST AND WORST RESOURCED SCHOOLS
A total of $20504 per student in 2017.
The figures include all fees, charges and parental contributions as well as State and Federal Government funding and any other private sources over the 2015, 2016 and 2017 years.
It does not include any deductions for capital works or debt servicing.
The analysis does not include special schools or schools that did not have complete financial data in MySchool for one or more of 2015, 2016 or 2017.
Numinbah Valley State School, with just 19 enrolled students, had the lowest gross income of any school in the Gold Coast region.
It made $1.3 million over the three year period.
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In parental contributions the region’s most expensive school was The Southport School where the average amount parents had to fork out in fees, charges and contributions in 2017 was $17,642.
St Hilda’s School, in Southport, had the Gold Coast region’s second highest average parental contributions with $16,033.
The school with the third highest parental contributions was Somerset College, where the average contribution was $15,065.
Executive Principal of Varsity College Sharon Schultz said when it comes to funding education, enough is never enough.
As the head of one of the Gold Coast’s largest schools, Ms Schultz knows about the struggle of balancing limited budgets, but still manages maintain the state’s largest instrumental music programs.
“Every school could always use more money. I believe in state education, we do an amazing job with our funding to get great results and give our students the options they need,” Ms Schultz said.
“It is about the school and parents working together — we don’t do anything in isolation.
“Our staff are amazing, our prep to year 12 program is an example of that, the arts faculty gave up every afternoon for the last semester to see these programs happen.”
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The condition of instruments and equipment is also cared for through a rigorous asset replacement register and programs are reassessed to stretch each dollar.
State curriculum changes can also impact the bottom line.
“Obviously the biggest thing happening is the incoming new system for year elevens,” Ms Schultz said.
This is the state wide change where year elevens mover from the old OP system to ATAR, the Australian Tertiary Admissions Rank, in line with NSW and other states.
“The change is a resource priority for us, it means we are looking at new text books and changes to subject — that doesn't come cheap.”
Gold Coast’s richest schools
The Southport School: $116.6 million
Varsity College: $115.4 million
All Saints Anglican School: $111.3 million
Somerset College: $103.7 million
Helensvale State High School: $93.7 million
King’s Christian College: $92.6 million
Palm Beach-Currumbin State High School: $92.2 million
Upper Coomera State College: $85 million
Emmanuel College: $83.6 million
A B Paterson College: $83.1 million
Gold Coast’s poorest schools
Numinbah Valley State School: $1.3 million
Springbrook State School: $2.1 million
Ingleside State School: $3.5 million
Beechmont State School: $4.4 million
Currumbin Valley State School: $6 million
Mother Teresa Primary School: $7.8 million
Coolangatta State School: $7 million
Cedar Creek State School: $8.7 million
St Bernard State School: $10.6 million
Pimpama State Primary College: $10 million
Gold Coast’s schools that cost parents the most
The Southport School: $17,642
St Hilda’s School: $16,033
Somerset College: $15,065
A B Paterson College: $10,590
All Saints Anglican School: $10,331
Saint Stephen’s College: $9387
Emmanuel College: $8850
Trinity Lutheran College: $8474
Coomera Anglican College: $7921
Hillcrest Christian College: $7217
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