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Queensland · council area

Schools in Cairns

There are 51 schools in Cairns: 29 primary schools, 10 secondary schools and 12 combined schools. By sector, that is 30 government schools, 15 Catholic schools and 6 independent schools. The suburbs with the most schools are Gordonvale, Woree, Manunda and Cairns.

Suburbs

Schools by suburb in Cairns

Catholic and independent

Private schools in Cairns

Independent primary and secondary school

Djarragun College

Gordonvale

Prep to Year 12 · boys and girls

All 21 private schools in Cairns
At a glance

Schools in Cairns in numbers

  • Between them, schools here take students of ages 5 to 18.
  • They have about 34,820 students enrolled, 683 per school on average; the largest is Cairns School of Distance Education with 3,692.
  • 21 of the 51 schools (41%) are Catholic or independent and charge fees; across Australia the share is 30%.
  • 3 schools are single-sex: 2 girls' schools and 1 boys' school.

Largest schools in Cairns

  1. Cairns School of Distance Education 3,692 students
  2. Redlynch State College 1,834 students
  3. Trinity Bay State High School 1,784 students
  4. The BUSY School 1,780 students
  5. Bentley Park College 1,771 students
Questions

Schools in Cairns: common questions

How many schools are there in the Cairns council area?
There are 51 schools in the Cairns council area, including 29 primary schools, 10 secondary schools and 12 combined primary and secondary schools.
How many private schools are there in the Cairns council area?
21 Catholic and independent schools, 41% of all schools in the Cairns council area. 15 are Catholic.
What is the largest school in the Cairns council area?
Cairns School of Distance Education, with 3,692 students. Next are Redlynch State College (1,834), Trinity Bay State High School (1,784) and The BUSY School (1,780).
Are there single-sex schools in the Cairns council area?
Yes: 2 girls' schools and 1 boys' school. The other 48 schools are co-educational.