In their words
Starting and settling in at Brisbane high schools: what families say
172 comments about starting and settling in from verified reviews and 2026 Open Day Reflections, across more than 40 Brisbane schools. Here are the schools where people say most, with one thing someone said at each.
Brisbane Boys' College
Boys · Independent · Toowong · $36,492 a year
11 comments · 4 speak well of it · 1 raises concerns
Read what people said at Brisbane Boys' College →“[The] transition into secondary […] is one of the most daunting jumps that a student's…”
Anglican Church Grammar School
Boys · Independent · East Brisbane · $36,232 a year
7 comments · 3 speak well of it
Read what people said at Anglican Church Grammar School →“The prep school is connected to Churchie.…”
Moreton Bay College
Girls · Independent · Manly West · $23,280 a year
7 comments · 5 speak well of it
Read what people said at Moreton Bay College →“Starting Year 7, it's really important to just get out of your comfort zone and…”
Brisbane Grammar School
Boys · Independent · Spring Hill · $37,960 a year
6 comments · 4 speak well of it
Read what people said at Brisbane Grammar School →“Grade 5 is amazing.…”
Lourdes Hill College
Girls · Catholic · Hawthorne · $16,000 a year
6 comments · 2 speak well of it
Read what people said at Lourdes Hill College →“They all have a little mini purple bag, they pack their Japanese books and their…”
Queensland Academy for Science Mathematics and Technology
Co-ed · State, competitive entry · Toowong · No tuition fees
6 comments · 4 speak well of it
Read what people said at Queensland Academy for Science Mathematics and Technology →“…In fact, my first year at university felt like a breath of fresh air in comparison to my time at QASMT.”
St Joseph’s College (Gregory Terrace)
Boys · Catholic · Spring Hill · $26,439 a year
6 comments · 1 speaks well of it · 1 raises concerns
Read what people said at St Joseph’s College (Gregory Terrace) →“One thing [they] sent out in the first few weeks [was] a list of families…”
All Hallows' School
Girls · Catholic · Fortitude Valley · $23,485 a year
5 comments · 3 speak well of it
Read what people said at All Hallows' School →“This approach helped me build strong self-discipline and critical thinking skills, which made the transition…”
Brisbane State High School
Co-ed · State, competitive entry · South Brisbane · No tuition fees
5 comments · 2 speak well of it · 1 raises concerns
Read what people said at Brisbane State High School →“The school has a lot of extra-curricular and vocational options available from year 7 to…”
Mansfield State High School
Co-ed · State, competitive entry · Mansfield · No tuition fees
5 comments · 1 speaks well of it
Read what people said at Mansfield State High School →“Year seven students are called veggies.…”
Mount Alvernia College
Girls · Catholic · Kedron · $14,164 a year
5 comments · 1 speaks well of it
Read what people said at Mount Alvernia College →“In grade seven you get your own locker […] so you keep all your books…”
Queensland Academy for Creative Industries
Co-ed · State, competitive entry · Kelvin Grove · No tuition fees
5 comments · 2 speak well of it
Read what people said at Queensland Academy for Creative Industries →“The first year was quite tough just because it's a very big transition […] But…”
St Peters Lutheran College
Co-ed · Independent · Indooroopilly · $26,786 a year
5 comments · 2 speak well of it · 1 raises concerns
Read what people said at St Peters Lutheran College →“I don't think I've seen [anything] major on school grounds […] I've been here since…”
Villanova College
Boys · Catholic · Coorparoo · $17,607 a year
5 comments · 1 speaks well of it · 1 mixed
Read what people said at Villanova College →“I came here from Melbourne […] so I didn't have a lot of knowledge of…”
Brisbane South State Secondary College
Co-ed · State · Dutton Park · No tuition fees
4 comments · 1 speaks well of it · 1 raises concerns
Read what people said at Brisbane South State Secondary College →“…Great transition program for year 7 students where they stay in the same classroom with the same teachers for the whole year, similar to primary school;”
Corinda State High School
Co-ed · State · Corinda · No tuition fees
4 comments · 2 speak well of it
Read what people said at Corinda State High School →“…Since year 7, I had constantly been taught by teachers that I could easily build strong relationships with who also made each year of my schooling memorable.”
Kelvin Grove State College
Co-ed · State · Kelvin Grove · No tuition fees
4 comments · 3 speak well of it · 1 raises concerns
Read what people said at Kelvin Grove State College →“…It was definitely harder to make friends in the last year as everyone stuck with their own groups and no one was really inviting.”
Padua College
Boys · Catholic · Kedron · $14,945 a year
4 comments · 2 speak well of it
Read what people said at Padua College →“In 7 [and] 8, they have the same teacher for every subject except for maths…”
St Joseph's Nudgee College
Boys · Catholic · Boondall · $25,035 a year
4 comments · 2 speak well of it
Read what people said at St Joseph's Nudgee College →“I would always suggest, whatever school you pick, try and put them in the junior…”
Stuartholme School
Girls · Catholic · Toowong · $28,010 a year
4 comments · 1 speaks well of it
Read what people said at Stuartholme School →“In Year 7, we try to make sure that they are all up to speed…”
How to read this
Each comment is an answer in a published review (parents and former students, who show us proof of their link to the school) or an Open Day Reflection: what the school's own principals, teachers and students told visitors at 2026 open days. “Speaks well” and “raises concerns” are worked out by software, sentence by sentence, from the parts about starting and settling in; it's right most of the time but not always, so read what people said. Schools are listed by how much people say about it. It isn't a ranking of how good a school is, and some comments need a free account or Full Access. How reviews work
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