Catholic girls high school to go co-ed, two primary schools to close

A southside Catholic high school for girls is set to be expanded and accept male students from the end of the decade, while two nearby primary schools will be closed down this year.

Brisbane Catholic Education – which runs 146 schools for about 80,000 students across south-east Queensland – made the announcement on Thursday afternoon.

Our Lady’s College in Annerley will become co-ed from 2030, with the first cohort of year 7 boys to start in term one of that year.

Meanwhile, Mary Immaculate Primary School next door, and St Brendan’s Primary School in nearby Moorooka, will be closed at the end of term four this year.

BCE said the decision was made due to demographic changes.

Combined enrolments at the schools fell by a third since 2021, and neither has more than 75 pupils remaining.

Families of existing students will be offered places at other nearby Catholic schools.

“BCE has been privileged to offer generations of south-east Queensland families a Catholic education and we have only done that by adapting to the changing nature of a growing state,” acting executive director Ross Tarlinton said.

“Our announcement today reflects that demand and our commitment to maintaining a strong and sustainable Catholic education presence in inner-city Brisbane into the future.”

BCE had not yet decided what it would do with the land its closing schools are built on.

Our Lady’s College – which has about 350 students – will be expanded as part of the shift to co-education.

Mary Immaculate Primary School backs directly onto the campus, and its buildings could be absorbed into the high school.

The announcement comes a year after BCE announced its St Mary of the Cross Catholic Primary School in Windsor would close down at the end of 2026, with a new co-ed high school to be built in its place.

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