Deciding school name

Bishop likely to make decision by year end

PARENTS eagerly anticipating the opening of the northern beaches’ newest high school in 2022 will know within weeks what name the Catholic school will be given.

The Cairns Diocese’s Catholic Education Services acting director of secondary school effectiveness Dora Luxton said nominations for the school’s name would be collected and sent to Cairns Bishop James Foley after a community information session next month.

The first Catholic school in Australia to sit within a university campus will partner with James Cook University and blur the lines between secondary and tertiary education in a unique offering.

Ms Luxton said she was “relatively confident” Bishop Foley would make a decision on the name before the end of the year.

Many factors will be considered in putting forward a suitable name, including the school’s secular site, its Christian ethos and focus on contemporary teaching.

“We have 150 expressions of interest for enrolment and those are for a number of years and are coming from parents concerned they might not get a place once the school opens,” said Ms Luxton, a retired principal.

“The school has obviously done the demographic work which shows the increase in demand but we’re a little surprised where else it’s been coming from. There’s been interest from as far north as Mossman and Port Douglas, as well as some interest from the Tablelands as well as local schools in Trinity Park and Smithfield. It’s charting new territory and the excitement for prospective parents is what that will mean for students coming into the college.

“Part of our thinking is it’s not just the students at this secondary school who will be on campus; we want to open it up to all the students in the nine other colleges in Cairns and we’re looking at networking with other private schools so the programs we’re establishing with JCU is available for all secondary students.”

Ms Luxton said the inclusiveness of Catholic schools was part of the growing popularity of the education model in the region. She said a strong foundation of Christian values and diversity in both academic and vocational courses was also an attraction.

Andrea O’Brien will take over from Ms Luxton next year, who previously managed the greenfield build of Assisi Catholic College on the Gold Coast, in 2020. Ms Luxton will continue working on the project on a part-time basis.