Townsville Schools

We are moving to Townsville in March for my husbands job. Our daughters are 6 & 4 and we are in the process of choosing a school. Any advice or recommendations would be welcomed.

thanks

Steph

Hi there, we've lived in Townsville since 2007 and have been very happy with all four of our kids at The Cathedral School (my eldest finished last year), which have both kindy to year 12 on one site. Alternatives are Townsville Grammar, which has two sites, and an excellent school, St Joseph's (Strand and Mundingburra), Holy Spirit School. Of the state schools, Oonoonba, in particular appears to be good for primary education, and generally most of the state schools are OK at primary level but none stand out particularly. It depends a little on where you choose to live, though nothing is far here so if you have a car, no worries.

Hi there, we've lived in Townsville since 2007 and have been very happy with all four of our kids at The Cathedral School (my eldest finished last year), which have both kindy to year 12 on one site. Alternatives are Townsville Grammar, which has two sites, and an excellent school, St Joseph's (Strand and Mundingburra), Holy Spirit School. Of the state schools, Oonoonba, in particular appears to be good for primary education, and generally most of the state schools are OK at primary level but none stand out particularly. It depends a little on where you choose to live, though nothing is far here so if you have a car, no worries.

Thank you you for your post it was really helpful. We have looked at Townsville Grammer, and they have a place for my 6 year old but not for 4 year old until prep in 2015. I have just sent a message to The Cathedral to enquire about places. It's difficult to make a decision without visiting the schools, but I am keen to secure places.

The early learning centre in Cathedral hopefully will be able to provide a place for your 4 year old. Website if you haven't seen it already is www.cathedral.qld.edu.au The choice of schools can depend on the individual child's strengths, and it is not unknown for transfers either way to occur at various times! The only criticism I have of Cathedral is that they do not have as well developed a special needs programme, for both ends of the spectrum, i.e. most have the opinion that the super brights will do better at Grammar and the those needing extra learning assistance will be better in a State school, paradoxically. Feedback from one of my daughters is that Grammar have a better performance arts curriculum!! (but she's a dancer - and several of her dance friends attend Grammar) I don't think you will be disappointed with either choice, it might boil down to which suits best re taxiing the kids around, I guess.

The early learning centre in Cathedral hopefully will be able to provide a place for your 4 year old. Website if you haven't seen it already is www.cathedral.qld.edu.au The choice of schools can depend on the individual child's strengths, and it is not unknown for transfers either way to occur at various times! The only criticism I have of Cathedral is that they do not have as well developed a special needs programme, for both ends of the spectrum, i.e. most have the opinion that the super brights will do better at Grammar and the those needing extra learning assistance will be better in a State school, paradoxically. Feedback from one of my daughters is that Grammar have a better performance arts curriculum!! (but she's a dancer - and several of her dance friends attend Grammar) I don't think you will be disappointed with either choice, it might boil down to which suits best re taxiing the kids around, I guess.

Can you recommend any nice suburbs to live, we are looking around Annandale to be close to Townsville Grammer school?

Annandale is nice, fair bit of choice, the neighbouring suburb of Fairfield Waters is also nice and developing fast. We live in Fairfield Waters so we're biased, but I think its got a slight edge! Douglas would also be a good choice but a bit far from Grammar. A bit more into town there are certainly some nice houses in Pimlico and Mysterton, which are more traditional Queenslanders usually, but often some gems. If you are likely to be staying in Townsville till the children are in middle and senior school, then North Ward and Castle Hill are more upmarket, and the secondary campus is there. Getting from place to place is really no problem as compared to a city traffic is pretty tame.

Hope the move goes well. LEt me know if I can be of further help!

I have been reading this thread with interest, as my husband has just been offered a job in Townsville. This sounds like such a minor issue, but my daughter is terribly allergic to mozzies, are there any suburbs you've listed above that you know to avoid…. would we be better sticking to the coastal areas, does it make a difference?!!!! Ridiculous question but perhaps you may know ;-))

Hi

Have PM'd you but in essence, mosquitos and tropics are synonymous; probably better out of the centre of town, I guess, or anywhere with a lot of undergrowth.

Cheers, hope the job is suitable.

Could I resurrect this thread to ask a school question?

We are considering the following at the moment:

Annandale Catholic College

Southern Cross College

Calvary Christian College

Does anyone have any views? At the moment, due to having only one income we cant consider Townsville Grammer or the Cathedral School due to their fee's.

We are thinking of moving Annandale/Idalia way for work however, there is a chance we may look at the newbuild development's up around Mount Low...

We have just moved to Townsville from the UK and have looked at both the Cathedral school and Townsville Grammar primary for our child. We liked them both. Whilst the academic aspect is important to us, we are particularly focussed on getting the right school in relation to social and nurture aspects and just a really nice environment that will help our child settle. Does anyone have any advice In relation to these schools. Many thanks

Hi Kae, I have attended the Cathedral School my whole life and I can say that in general it is a very welcoming school (hence its religious background, being an Anglican School). Though I am not in primary school anymore, it was definitely very enjoyable when I was and I most certainly learnt some valuable lessons. I also developed very strong relationships with all of my peers, including the ones that have come and gone. The teachers are also very knowledgeable and work efficiently in their areas of teaching, making the experience a whole lot better. Whilst school here is very lively, the teachers are fairly strict and have high expectations for the students, even in junior/primary school. Also the community at the school is very competitive in various aspects including academics, sports, drama, school groups, etc. So if your children aren't already, they will really need to try and excel in a certain area.

This is just my opinion but I would be happy to answer any other questions if need be.

Thanks!

Hi @Kae apologises I've only just seen this post. I agree with Jellybean that Cathedral is a good school and not as expensive, also if you have boys consider Ignatius Park or Iggy as the locals call it.

Hi @The Pom Queen

As far as I know the Cathedral School is the most expensive school in Townsville, even more so than Townsville Grammar and Ignatious Park.