Low-fee Christian school enrolments are soaring – but not in the traditionally dominant Catholic and Anglican sectors

Cheaper faith-based private colleges are growing so fast they’re on track to overtake the Catholic sector in two years. See which schools are surging and which are stagnating.

Private Christian colleges are growing up to six times faster than government schools, with the highest demand for schools with fees of less than $7500, a new report shows.

Private non-Catholic schools now educate 745,000 students, or 18 per cent of the national school population, and are tipped to overtake the Catholic sector as the second most popular education choice by 2027.

Analysis commissioned by Independent Schools Australia (ISA) – the national peak body for the private school sector – shows overall enrolments for its schools growing at 3.9 per cent compared to 0.2 per cent for government schools and 1.7 per cent in Catholic schools.

The figures compiled by the ISA also show Montessori, Jewish and Uniting Church schools losing students and low growth in Anglican and Catholic schools.

In comparison, the biggest increase since 2019 is in Islamic schools (6.8 per cent growth in student numbers), other religious schools (up 6.1 per cent), non-denominational schools (up 5.4 per cent), Pentecostal schools (up 4.8 per cent) and Christian schools (up 4.7 per cent),

John Paul College in Queensland is one of the fast-growing private schools.

Most of the growth in the past five years has been in lower fee schools charging $7500 or less, with those charging less than $2500 accounting for 18 per cent of additional enrolments.

Between 2023 and 2024, the strongest growth was in Queensland (4.8 per cent), followed by Victoria (4.1 per cent), Western Australia (4.5 per cent), New South Wales (3.6 per cent), ACT (3.2 per cent) and South Australia (2.4 per cent).

This equated to an additional 8496 students in NSW private schools, 6998 in Queensland, 6881 in Victoria, 3651 in Western Australia and 1322 in South Australia.

Growth has also been high in regional areas, accounting for 22 per cent of the increase in numbers along with growth in specialist schools for children with additional needs.

It’s projected that the private sector will increase by 114,000 students over the next decade, requiring around 260 new schools or campuses, mostly in NSW, Victoria and Queensland. This compares with Catholic growth of 12,000 students and government loss of 26,000 students, the ISA projects.

Fintona Girls’ School in Melbourne is part of the fast-growing private school sector.

ISA chief executive Graham Catt said families were “voting with their feet”.

“They are choosing independent schools because these schools meet their values, aspirations and expectations,” he said.

“Despite the fact their children receive only half the taxpayer funding of students in public schools, families are still making extraordinary sacrifices. That choice must continue to be supported.”

The report notes that private schools receive $13,080 per student in government funding compared to $24,860 for public school students.

Mia Barnden from The Industry School is studying floristry, works at Fig and Bloom as a florist and has her own business Little Frog Floristry.

One college growing fast is The Industry School, which has six campuses in South-East Queensland and allows students to combine year 12 certificate studies with trade apprenticeships.

CEO Lee Smith said the school, which has 1250 students and fees of around $9000, is “deliberately different”.

“We offer values-based schooling and that’s what employers are asking for. They want us to send them students with the right attitude,” he said.

Mia Barnden, 17, is studying at the school and doing a floristry apprenticeship as well as her QCE.

“The teachers are helpful and nice and care about you,” she said. “I wasn’t sure what I wanted to do but then I did work experience at a florist and loved it. I love putting together flowers and designing something and it’s great to do a job that brings people so much joy”.

Students from John Paul College come from 45 different countries.

John Paul College in Daisy Hill, southeast of Brisbane, is also growing rapidly. Principal Craig Merritt said the school, which includes students from 45 different nationalities, was committed to Christian values.

“We take pride in our harmonious and compassionate JPC family, nurturing a multi-faith environment that respects and values each individual,” he said.

Mia Barnden from The Industry School said it’s great to study something that brings customers so much joy.

Another school proud of its growth is Fintona Girls School.

Principal Rachael Falloon said the school had seen steady enrolment growth, year on year.

“Families joining us and moving into the independent sector often speak to the strength of our cocurricular programs and ability to access such, and the welcoming and positive learning environment they felt when they toured the school,” she said.

Originally published as Low-fee Christian school enrolments are soaring – but not in the traditionally dominant Catholic and Anglican sectors