After more than a year of construction, Holy Spirit College Fitzgibbon, the first co-ed Catholic high school to be established in Brisbane in 56 years, has officially opened!
The school welcomed nearly 100 students attending Year 7 at its new $1.35 million facilities in February 2022. But on 3 June 2022, the school welcomed His Grace, the Archbishop of Brisbane Mark Coleridge, alongside The Hon Stirling Hinchliffe, the Minister for Tourism, Innovation and Sport, and Member for Sandgate for the blessing and opening ceremonies.
Holy Spirit College Fitzgibbon Principal Stephan le Roux said that they were inundated with applications from parents within a few months of the announcement of the plans to build a new Catholic school in North Brisbane. He confirmed that enrolments are “fully subscribed until the end of 2025.”
Two more buildings are due to be completed in the coming years. Wunya, which means “welcome” in the local Turrbal language, will house the administration block. The other building will be called Garrnang, which means “community”.
The buildings were funded by the Queensland Government and Brisbane Catholic Education (BCE).
The last BCE high school to open in Brisbane was Clairvaux Mackillop College, Upper Mount Gravatt in 1966.
Executive Director Dr Sally Towns that locals in Fitzgibbon have been looking for a faith-filled co-educational schooling option and BCE recognised the community as a priority growth area.
Needless to say, the students and staff have been eager to come to school and experience the “innovative approach to education, implementing project-based learning to enhance the teaching of the Australian Curriculum,” according to the principal.