Religious affiliation(s) Christian Grades Childcare – 12 Phone +61 7 3826 3333 Motto Unity Christ Learning | Established 1982 Gender Co-educational Total enrollment 2,160 (2010) Founded 1982 | |
Type Independent, Day & Boarding Headmaster Norm Kerley (Acting Headmaster) Similar Redeemer Lutheran College, Ormiston College Early Lea, Sheldon College, Citipointe Christian College, Kimberley College Profiles | ||
John Paul College is an independent, co-educational, ecumenical day and boarding school located in the Logan City suburb of Daisy Hill.
Contents
It teaches over 2,500 students, under the direction of the acting Headmaster, Norm Kerley. The campus covers 33 hectares and was established in 1982. The foundation principal was Cec Munns, who was also a member of the steering committee which had urged the Brisbane Catholic Education Office to establish a Catholic secondary school in the area. This request was denied, so the committee worked with the local Catholic, Anglican, and Uniting parishes to establish the school, which opened on Australia Day 1982 with 144 students in Years 8 and 9.
John Paul College has twice been judged as one of the best ten schools in Australia in a nationwide series conducted by The Australian newspaper in both 2002 and 2003.
John Paul provides group or private instrumental, vocal, dance and drama lessons on a weekly basis. The school also provides the students with a diverse range of co-curricular activities.
Boarding commenced at John Paul College in 2015, housing 48 boarders.
Schools
The College comprises three schools:
Primary School is broken down into an additional three schools:
College History
The clergy who were initially involved in the College's establishment, and after whom the four Houses are named, were a remarkably appropriate group of people to find in this place at that time.
Father Rollo Enright, Catholic parish priest at St Peter's, Rochedale, had a strong commitment to ecumenism and was the driving force behind the push for the ecumenical concept of the college when it became clear that the proposal to build a Catholic College at Daisy Hill was rejected by the Catholic Education Office.
Father Leo Burke was the founding Catholic parish priest of St Edward's, Daisy Hill and remains involved with the College to this day as its Patron.
Another committed ecumenist, Fr Patrick Doulin, was parish priest of St Mark's Anglican community, Slacks Creek and the official representative of the Anglican hierarchy.
Reverend Bryan Gilmour, pastor of Logan Uniting Church, was a prominent leader of the ecumenical movement within his own Church and, with the others, enthusiastically supported the establishment of John Paul College as an ecumenical school. It was indeed, he who, when it appeared all avenues to establish the college were exhausted, suggested that the founders pray that, "not our will, but God's, be done".