Toowoomba Catholic Schools to start construction on new St Francis Catholic College in Westbrook

The Catholic Diocese of Toowoomba has secured funding for a landmark 1400-student school in the city’s west, addressing years of community demands for more services. SEE THE VIDEO:

Construction will start next year on what will become one of Toowoomba’s largest private schools in a desperately under-serviced part of the city.

The Diocese of Toowoomba Catholic Schools has released new concept footage of the upcoming St Francis Catholic College, which has been planned for a large parcel of land in Westbrook.

It comes just days after the diocese was granted the necessary state government capital funding to start construction, with a contractor to be appointed to the build by the end of November.

Once fully-completed, St Francis College will be home to 1400 students, making it the largest Catholic school in Toowoomba.

Concept art of the planned St Francis Catholic School in Westbrook, Toowoomba.

Diocese executive director Pat Coughlan said the campus, which was approved by the Queensland government through a ministerial infrastructure designation, would be ready to welcome students by 2027 in a staged process.

“To date, we’ve invested about $2.5m in the process leading up to now,” he said.

“But as you could imagine, schools don’t come cheaply, so this is a significant investment, first of all by the state government but also by the diocese.

“Stage one involves a lot of ground works, a lot of the infrastructure goes in, a lot of roadworks and so on but there’s also buildings (like) classrooms, an administration block, library and some specialist facilities.

“The college will offer P-to-3 and year 7 in 2027.”

Toowoomba Catholic Schools executive director Pat Coughlan is excited for the diocese to build the city's newest school in Westbrook.

The 3D flyover showcases a modern and open design featuring not just educational facilities but also communal amenities like a cafe and art gallery.

Dr Coughlan said the school offered the diocese a rare chance to masterplan a campus for not just the student body but also the wider community.

“Building a school from the ground up gives you the advantage of looking at an overall design that is going to reflect through all buildings, through all of the documents, through logos, and through other aspects of the school like the uniform,” he said.

“Part of our preparation was engagement with the community, and even before that, there was some substantial research into where the likely areas of growth and development were going to be in the Toowoomba region.

“Westbrook stood out as an area that was going to grow and develop in the future, and that a lot of that growth would be from young families.

“So we spent quite a bit of time engaging with the community out there, getting to know that community and also ensuring that community can be our greatest ambassadors for our school.

“We’re particularly focusing on the school being a community hub, so a lot of the facilities are being designed not for the exclusive use of the students or the school, but for the community.”

Westbrook residents have spent years urging both the state government and the Toowoomba Regional Council to service the area, which has seen a shortfall in housing and school as land has become constrained.

Dr Coughlan said parents were already registering their enthusiasm literally.

“The website became live (on Wednesday), and so far we’ve had 13 completed enrolments and 22 enrolment forms we know are being completed,” he said.

“So there is a level of interest there and that’s being demonstrated immediately.

“We hope of course that will continue as we follow up on some of these enrolments.

“Our plan is to appoint a principal for the college, ready to start next year, and so that will give a focal point and a face for the engagement with families who are thinking about enrolment.”