At a glance, these Queensland beachside communities have everything a family could want.
But there’s one thing missing — a local high school.
Towns along the Bundaberg coastline, including Bargara, Burnett Heads and Elliott Heads are experiencing major growth as people embrace a lifestyle change.
The beachside town of Bargara has experienced the greatest growth, with its population increasing 18 per cent to more than 8,800 residents between 2016 and 2021, according to the Australian Bureau of Statistics.
Bundaberg private schools are reporting significant waitlists. (ABC Wide Bay: Johanna Marie)
In that time, an additional 600 families moved to the three towns, making a total of more than 3,800 families.
Those families are within the zone of Bundaberg’s Kepnock High School, which already has almost 1,600 students, and is a 20-minute drive in school traffic.
In the lead-up to the state election, there have been renewed calls for a new high school to cater for the population boom along the coast.
Bargara parent Campbell Gradon says he would love to see a new school built in town. (ABC Wide Bay: Grace Whiteside)
“[A new local high school] is the key to unleashing the potential of our community,” Bargara parent Campbell Gradon said.
“That’s the one thing that’s missing.
“It saves commuting time, it saves the traffic, it makes everyone feel more at home and part of the bigger community, rather than everyone trundling the kids off into town.”
Lengthening waitlists
Bundaberg’s Shalom Catholic College principal Dan McMahon said his school was reaching capacity, with about 1,600 students enrolled for 2025, and others placed on a waitlist.
Principal Dan McMahon says there’s been a significant number of enrolment applications at Bundaberg’s Shalom Catholic College. (Supplied: Shalom College)
“Particularly since COVID, we’ve had significantly increased pressure on us for enrolments,” he said.
Mr McMahon said the school had more than 300 applications for year 7 for next year, but could only offer 270 places.
“They’re wonderful kids and normally I’d love to have them, but physically we just don’t have room,” he said.
Renee Priem’s son Oscar is on the waitlist at three secondary private schools in Bundaberg.
Many seaside towns, like Agnes Water where Renee and Oscar live, don’t have a local high school. (Supplied: Renee Priem)
The family lives in Agnes Water, a coastal town between Bundaberg and Gladstone, where the closest public high school is a 45-minute drive away, in Rosedale.
Ms Priem said she had been told Oscar was unsuccessful in securing a place at any of the Bundaberg private high schools because of the “overwhelming numbers” of applications.
“It was a bit of a shock,” she said.
“There’s a big boom in growth in ‘Bundy’ and the region, and the school system’s not able to keep up and allow the power of choice and option for students.”
Ms Priem said her family loves living in Agnes Water for the lifestyle, but their choices were more limited than they expected.
Renee Priem says she expected to have more education options for her family. (Supplied: Renee Priem)
“Because that volume and demand is there, they [the private schools] have to draw a line in the sand somewhere, but that means that kids may be limited in their options,” she said.
“It’s not a lack of quality of schools, it’s a lack of choice to pick a school that suits your child’s needs and wants.”
Teacher shortages
Mr McMahon said that while a new Education Queensland-funded high school was worth discussing, the issue would be finding staff.
“It is difficult not only to recruit them, but it’s also then finding them accommodation,” he said.
“We’ve seen this [teacher shortage] crisis looming for years, and I think all levels of government have been slow to react.”
Bundaberg’s Mayor Helen Blackburn says she a new high school is much needed for coastal communities. (ABC Wide Bay: Nikki Sorbello)
Bundaberg’s Mayor Helen Blackburn said a coastal high school was well overdue.
“Bargara is our growth corridor and that desperately is in need of a secondary school,” she said.
“We need to have that secondary school down there to allow for students to get to school and get home in reasonable time frames.”
A government spokesperson said it was committed to investing in infrastructure across Queensland, including in new schools where demand emerged.
“Currently the department advises that there are no immediate plans to open a new state secondary school in Bargara, based on current and predicted future student population growth,” a government statement said.
The population of beachside towns like Bargara has swelled in recent years. (ABC Wide Bay: Johanna Marie)
In the 2024-25 budget, the Labor Party committed more than $20 billion to education.
The announcement included an additional $1 billion over five years to improve learning environments and deliver more than 2,000 teaching support staff and professional resources to help students living with a disability.
The LNP would not commit to building a new high school, but has promised a $207 million boost to education, focusing on safe classrooms and more teachers.
“We’ll see schools get back to basics by freeing up teachers with 25 per cent less red tape, 550 more teacher aides and support teachers,” said LNP member for Burnett, Stephen Bennett.
“The More Teachers, Better Education policy will deliver more speech and occupation therapist care to help kids with learning difficulties,” he said.
“We’ll also bring a boost to professional development with an additional 200 teachers each year to be trained in STEM [science, technology, engineering and mathematics] or inclusive needs.”
