Holy Spirit College Fitzgibbon – Brisbane Catholic Education’s first co-ed high school in the Brisbane City Council region since 1966 – officially opened and blessed last week (Friday 3 June).
The event at the co-educational school in the northern Brisbane suburb of Fitzgibbon was attended by His Grace, the Archbishop of Brisbane Mark Coleridge, and The Hon Stirling Hinchliffe Minister for Tourism, Innovation and Sport, and Member for Sandgate, on behalf of the Hon Grace Grace Minister for Education.
Holy Spirit College opened to a cohort of almost 100 Year 7 students in February 2022, with students enjoying the $1.35 million Queensland Government funded campus, with two BCE funded buildings also on the way.
Principal Stephan le Roux called it a “milestone day” for the school.
“We’ve had large numbers of applications from parents wanting to send their child to our school within only a few months,” he said.
“Our enrolments are now fully subscribed until the end of 2025.”
Mr le Roux said students and staff are “genuinely excited to come to school” where he said they take an “innovative approach to education, implementing project-based learning to enhance the teaching of the Australian Curriculum.”
Stage One of Holy Spirit College included external construction works to deliver services to the site and two new buildings, named in the local Turrbal language.
The ‘Wunya’ administration block, meaning ‘welcome,’ has two levels and the second building is called the ‘Garrnang’ meaning ‘community.’
Executive Director Dr Sally Towns said Fitzgibbon was identified as a priority growth area by Brisbane Catholic Education.
“The community wanted and needed a co-educational schooling option for their children, and Holy Spirit College delivers on this need,” she said.
“The school provides significant benefits to the Fitzgibbon community, providing not only a co-educational choice within this fast-growing area, but one which provides a Catholic education option to a community which is faith-filled.”
The last Brisbane Catholic Education senior school opened in the Brisbane City Council region was Clairvaux Mackillop College, Upper Mount Gravatt in 1966.