By Susannah Thomsett
Inner-city schools might finally be enjoying the flow-on benefits of the urban renewal of recent decades but it remains a very slow process, an Independent investigation suggests.
First-year and overall enrolment figures for state and private schools suggest families are now being attracted more and more to renewal hotspots such as Bowen Hills, Newstead and Teneriffe, the Valley and Spring Hill. Y
et despite continuing population growth – Australian Bureau of Statistics data shows an increase of more than 2000 people in each of five inner Brisbane suburbs, including Fortitude Valley, Spring Hill and Newstead between 1996 and 2006 – families with young children are still a minority in Brisbane’s inner suburbs.
Nick Gallen, principal of Holy Spirit New Farm, says the suburb appears to be attracting plenty of families with young children.
“We have a number of people trying to get into our school this year, especially for our prep services … unfortunately, we can’t take them all and we have to turn some people away,” Mr Gallen said.
“They are all local New Farm families, or moving into the area. I would say seven to 10 years ago there were fewer families, but from the inquiries we get that doesn’t seem to be the case any longer,” Mr Gallen said.
“I would feel that over the last 10 years New Farm has become much more family friendly. People come here for a reason, not just passing through. As long as it remains affordable, we’ll see more families moving in.”
Nearby New Farm State School is experiencing a similar growth: it had a total enrolment of some 280 children last year; this year, it has 75 new prep kids alone.
Many of the residential projects built over recent years in that and adjoining suburbs have attracted predominately single renters without children but PRDnationwide New Farm principal Adam Gray says that trend may now be slowly changing, with more owner-occupiers taking up residence.
“We have noticed over the past few years that we are getting more owner occupiers than in the past. I think the world has realised that we live in a little slice of heaven."
Of New Farm School’s first-year intake, he said: “Perhaps the families are starting to target New Farm a bit more.”
But he admits it’s a slow process, as there “are not too many families that move into our area apart from perhaps the house”.
“The apartments make up around 85 per cent of the dwellings and these are mostly rented. They are occupied by professionals and students and DINKS."
In 2009 the ABS found that New Farm was the most densely populated suburb in Brisbane at 5 700 people.
According to Fortitude Valley State School principal Matt Taylor, inner city schools experience high student turnover as families arrive in Brisbane, find their feet and move to suburbs further out.
“The pattern in the past is that up to 10 per cent of our enrolments are from people just turning up out of nowhere in the first week,” Mr Taylor said.
“One reason that the inner city schools receive these children is because … the inner city is better set up for new arrivals.”
The last census supports Mr Taylor's comments, showing that 88 per cent of Fortitude Valley residents are between 18 and 64 years old, 55 per cent of residents are renting their homes, and the average household has 1.8 people.
Fortitude Valley’s population has more than trebled over the last 13 years, but Fortitude Valley State School itself has remained small at under 60 students.
Big prep intake ... New Farm State School
