Varsity College is a primary and secondary school in Varsity Lakes (Queensland, Australia).

Infrastructure

On 25 July 2001, Stage 1 of the school was officially opened by Hon Peter Beattie (Premier of Queensland). On 13 August 2002, stage 2 of the school was officially opened by Anna Bligh (Queensland Minister for Education), a project costing $18 million (State and Federal Government funding). In 2002, the school opened a secondary campus, then known as "Varsity College Middle School".

On 3 April 2004, the school's Senior Sports Centre, Performing Arts Centre and the Senior General Learning building were officially opened by Senator George Brandis. In 2005, the "Lake Orr" footbridge, connecting both campuses, had been constructed. In 2010, the Senior Learning Centre (SLC), originally known as the "Chinese Language & Cultural Centre of Excellence", was officially opened by Hon John-Paul Langbroek. In 2015, the Junior Learning Centre was officially opened.

In 2019, an outdoor multi purpose sports court (known as "The Hanger"), was built at the secondary campus.

School leadership

In 2001, on the school's opening year, Mr Micheal Roberts was the Preparatory School Principal and Mrs Julie Grantham was the College Principal. Since then, the school has had multiple principals:

+ Principal YearsJulie Grantham2001–2002Tracey Cashman2002–2004Mike Kelly2004–2005Jeff Davis2005–2015Steven McLuckie2015–2018Sharon Schultz2018–2023Nigel Hughes2023–present

Students

Years

In 2002, with the opening of the school's then "Middle School", the school enrolled students for years 4 - 9. In 2005, the school enrolled students for year 12, inducting the school's first premier College Captains.

Class sizes

The trend in the average size of classes has been: -

+ YearYears Prep – Year 4 – 6 7 – 10 11 – 12 2016 23 25 26 20 2017 24 26 25 21 2018 23 26 25 19 2019 24 27 24 19 2020 22 26 24 20 2021 22 26 23 19 2022 21 26 23 19 2023 TBA TBA TBA TBA

Student enrolments

In 2023, Varsity College was reported to have a maximum student enrolment capacity of 3,619 students. The number of students entering Prep in any given year must not exceed 200 in 8 classrooms, unless there are more than 200 students enrolling from within the catchment area. With respect to the school's "Programs of Excellence in Academic, Cultural and Sports Excellence", the school has an enrolment capacity of: 425 students - Academic Program of Excellence 400 students - Cultural Program of Excellence 300 students - Sports Program of Excellence Upon opening in 2001, the school had an initial cohort of 354 students from preschool to Year 3. In 2006, Varsity College reached over 2,500 enrolments across both campuses. The trend in school enrolments (August figures) has been:-

YearYearsBoysGirlsTotal Prep 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 2014 __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ 1,592 1,477 3,069 2015 __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ 1,606 1,500 3,106 2016 __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ 1,593 1,513 3,106 2017 __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ 1,655 1,568 3,223 2018 209 221 212 216 200 233 233 362 332 338 289 170 254 1,694 1,575 3,269 2019 179 222 223 222 217 223 249 341 350 323 311 258 161 1,618 1,598 3,279 2020 184 176 235 231 224 240 341 347 339 337 307 276 233 1,729 1,641 3,370 2021 180 189 180 238 228 227 241 335 350 327 312 283 255 1,700 1,645 3,345 2022 172 183 197 186 247 230 237 367 329 353 294 289 260 1,609 1,654 3,344 2023 TBA TBA TBA TBA TBA TBA TBA TBA TBA TBA TBA TBA TBA TBA TBA 3,400

Attendance

The trend in student attendance has been: -

YearYearsOverall Prep 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 2016 93% 93% 94% 93% 94% 94% 95% 93% 92% 90% 89% 91% 91% 92% 2017 95% 93% 93% 94% 94% 94% 93% 93% 91% 90% 89% 92% 92% 92% 2018 94% 94% 94% 94% 93% 94% 93% 93% 90% 90% 88% 91% 92% 92% 2019 94% 94% 94% 94% 94% 94% 93% 92% 91% 89% 89% 90% 90% 92% 2020 93% 92% 92% 92% 91% 91% 91% 91% 90% 89% 89% 90% 89% 91% 2021 95% 94% 94% 94% 93% 93% 92% 91% 89% 87% 89% 88% 88% 91% 2022 91% 90% 91% 91% 90% 90% 89% 87% 85% 84% 83% 87% 84% 87% 2023 TBA TBA TBA TBA TBA TBA TBA TBA TBA TBA TBA TBA TBA TBA

Discipline

The trend in student discipline has been: -

+ YearShort Suspensions1 – 15 daysLong Suspensions6 – 20 daysExclusionsEnrolmentCancellationsTotal 2016 223 2 10 9 244 2017 249 15 6 9 279 2018 290 8 10 4 312 2019 306 10 11 3 330 2020 163 6 4 1 174 2021 308 25 10 3 346 2022 192 42 8 5 247 2023 TBA TBA TBA TBA TBA

Curriculum

Languages

The school's language department offers Mandarin from prep to year 12. The school also runs an English as an Additional Language or Dialect (EAL/D) support team.

Sports

Participation

During the school year, students participate in a range of carnivals, including cross country running, track and field, and swimming. Age champions are awarded for students who excel in these fields.

House system

The school has four sporting houses, named after "iconic" Gold Coast beaches:

+Current House SystemHouse NameColourMascotStudent SurnameGold Coast BeachesBurleigh bluebarracudas A B C DBurleigh BeachKirra yellowsharksE F G H I J K Kirra BeachMiami greenraysL M N O P Q Miami BeachRainbow red serpentsR S T U V W X Y ZRainbow Beach

AFL Team Achievements

Senior Female (Years 10-12) AFL Queensland Schools Cup Champions: 2020 Runners Up: 2021, 2024

Junior Female (Years 7-9) AFL Queensland Schools Cup Runners Up: 2019, 2020, 2021, 2023, 2024

Popular culture In 2002, the series The Sleepover Club was shot and partially produced at the school.

The college has appeared in Sea Patrol.

Notable alumni Sport Name Sport Top Level Team/Affiliation Charlotte Hammans Australian rules football Carlton, Gold Coast Havana Harris Australian rules football Gold Coast Leo Lombard Australian rules football Gold Coast Sienna McMullen Australian rules football Gold Coast Nyalli Milne Australian rules football Gold Coast Jake Rogers Australian rules football Gold Coast Kwame Yeboah Soccer Australia (U23) Kiah Melverton Swimming Australia Maddy Gough Swimming Australia

References

External links Varsity College website