The school will service one of the biggest new housing zones in Australia with capacity for up to 1800 students, from Prep to Year 12. Brisbane Catholic Education’s John Phelan said the site was chosen because it is a Priority Development Area that is experiencing “rapid population increases”. He said the school would launch with Years K-3 and Year 7, adding a new primary and secondary grade each year. “At this stage, we expect to open in 2023, subject to approvals,” he said. “Our development program typically starts two years ahead. At that point we open expressions of interest for enrollments.”

Flagstone currently has only one primary and one secondary school - Flagstone State School and Flagstone Community College. Peet Limited chief executive Brendan Gore said the growing community could support another two schools. “Over the next 30 years, Flagstone is designed to become the main CBD for a regional population of around 120,000 people – that’s a population comparable to Toowoomba or Cairns,” Mr Gore said. “Ultimately, Flagstone is likely to support two more schools, with plans for a hospital and tertiary institution, as well as a billion dollar local economy with around 10,000 jobs.”

Catholic Education currently operates about 300 primary and secondary schools across Queensland with more than 147,000 students.

Appeared in Courier Mail 11th of September 2018.