Bracken Ridge State High School
Secondary school in Brisbane, Australia
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Bracken Ridge State High School (BRSHS) is a public co-educational secondary school[7][5][3][2] located in the Brisbane suburb of Bracken Ridge (Queensland, Australia),[7][5][3] serving the suburbs of Brighton, Bracken Ridge, Nashville, Sandgate, Shorncliffe, and Bald Hills.[5] It is administered by the Queensland Department of Education. The school is located within the Bracken Ridge ward of Brisbane City Council.[9][10]
| Bracken Ridge State High School | |
|---|---|
Main Entrance, 2023 | |
| Location | |
 | |
68 Barfoot Street , , 4017 Australia 27.30744°S 153.04392°E | |
| Information | |
| Former name | Nashville State High School[1] |
| Type | State secondary day school[2][3] |
| Motto | Strive To Accomplish[4] |
Religious affiliation | Non-denominational[2][3] |
| Established | 1967[5][3] |
| Authority | Department of Education (Queensland)[5] |
Principal | Michelle Lyons[6][7] |
| Staff | |
| Year levels | Year 7 – Year 12[8]: 2 |
| Gender | Coeducational[8]: 2 [2][3] |
| Enrolment | 626[5] (August 2025) |
| Language | English |
Campus type | Urban[5] |
| Colours |
|
| Website | brackenridgeshs |
History
The school opened on 23 January 1967, under the name Nashville State High School,[1] which changed to its current name on 25 September 2000.[11][12]
In 2018, the school developed Australia's first "off the grid" classroom, a classroom using just renewable energy around the clock.[13][14][15] The project was run by Hivve Technologies Pty Ltd[16] and received an Australian government grant of more than $370,000 through the Australian Renewable Energy Agency.[14]
The school celebrated its 50th anniversary on 1–2 September 2017.[17]
Staff demographics
Staff
In 2024, the school had 63 teachers (59.1 full-time equivalent) and 32 non-teaching staff (23.0 full-time equivalent).[5]
Principals
The school's first principal was Noel Rollings,[18][19] and, as of 2025, the current principal is Michelle Lyons.[6][7] The prior principals have included:
† During 2014, Regina Garrick (Deputy Principal) took on the role as acting principal.[36]: 1
Principals prior to this include Jeff J. Major.[37]
Student demographics
Until 2014, the school catered for students from year 8 to year 12,[38][36]: 4 however, the school has catered for students from year 7 to year 12 from 2015[39][29]: 2 to the current day.[5][7]
In 2025, the school had 626 students enrolled in the school,[5] with a maximum student enrolment capacity of 827 students.[40] Enrolments trends for recent years have included:
| Year | Years | Boys | Girls | Total | School Capacity |
Ref | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | |||||||||
| 1991 | - | 88 | 77 | 94 | 97 | 80 | - | - | 436 | - | [41] | |||
| 1992 | - | 84 | 87 | 84 | 83 | 93 | - | - | 431 | - | [41] | |||
| 1993 | - | 73 | 86 | 79 | 77 | 71 | - | - | 386 | - | [41] | |||
| 1994 | - | 82 | 74 | 82 | 61 | 63 | - | - | 362 | - | [41] | |||
| 1995 | - | 73 | 82 | 80 | 67 | 48 | - | - | 350 | - | [41] | |||
| 1996 | - | 97 | 71 | 85 | 65 | 61 | - | - | 379 | - | [41] | |||
| 1997 | - | 92 | 100 | 84 | 73 | 53 | - | - | 402 | - | [41] | |||
| 1998 | - | 100 | 99 | 105 | 65 | 61 | - | - | 379 | - | [41] | |||
| 1999 | - | 123 | 94 | 108 | 101 | 53 | - | - | 479 | - | [41] | |||
| 2000 | - | 112 | 123 | 96 | 90 | 84 | - | - | 505 | - | [41] | |||
| 2001 | - | 119 | 119 | 120 | 83 | 78 | - | - | 519 | - | [41] | |||
| 2002 | - | 132 | 116 | 124 | 108 | 75 | - | - | 555 | - | [41] | |||
| 2003 | - | 116 | 131 | 119 | 112 | 103 | - | - | 581 | - | [41] | |||
| 2004 | - | 112 | 112 | 134 | 110 | 88 | - | - | 556 | - | [41] | |||
| 2005 | - | 120 | 100 | 118 | 111 | 90 | - | - | 539 | - | [41] | |||
| 2006 | - | 144 | 120 | 105 | 120 | 83 | - | - | 572 | - | [42] | |||
| 2007 | - | 144 | 142 | 125 | 107 | 94 | - | - | 612 | - | [43] | |||
| 2008 | - | 127 | 136 | 139 | 127 | 86.6 | - | - | 615.6 | - | [44] | |||
| 2009 | - | 110 | 130 | 140 | 145 | 85 | - | - | 610 | - | [35]: 5 | |||
| 2010 | - | - | - | - | - | - | 277 | 265 | 542 | - | [45] | |||
| 2011 | - | - | - | - | - | - | 250 | 242 | 492 | - | [32]: 4 | |||
| 2012 | - | - | - | - | - | - | 262 | 225 | 487 | - | [45] | |||
| 2013 | - | - | - | - | - | - | 267 | 233 | 500 | - | [46] | |||
| 2014 | - | - | - | - | - | - | 231 | 220 | 451 | - | [38][36] | |||
| Addition of year 7 | ||||||||||||||
| 2015 | - | - | - | - | - | - | 249 | 218 | 467 | - | [39][29]: 2 | |||
| 2016 | - | - | - | - | - | - | 266 | 217 | 483 | - | [47][48] | |||
| 2017 | - | - | - | - | - | - | 266 | 218 | 484 | - | [49][50] | |||
| 2018 | 104 | 116 | 98 | 91 | 49 | 62 | 263 | 257 | 520 | - | [51][52] | |||
| 2019 | 122 | 114 | 119 | 88 | 82 | 43 | 290 | 278 | 568 | - | [53][54] | |||
| 2020 | 133 | 124 | 116 | 116 | 86 | 69 | 344 | 300 | 644 | 718 | [55][26]: 2 [56] | |||
| 2021 | 127 | 123 | 119 | 108 | 100 | 80 | 345 | 312 | 657 | 718 | [57][58][59] | |||
| 2022 | 120 | 131 | 117 | 105 | 93 | 89 | 337 | 318 | 655 | 718 | [60][22]: 2 [61] | |||
| 2023 | 116 | 120 | 127 | 108 | 87 | 82 | 329 | 311 | 640 | 718 | [62][63][8][64] | |||
| 2024 | 138 | 117 | 121 | 112 | 76 | 70 | 325 | 309 | 634 | 718 | [65][66][67] | |||
| 2025 | TBA | TBA | TBA | TBA | TBA | TBA | 329 | 297 | 626 | 718 | [5][68] | |||
| 2026 | TBA | TBA | TBA | TBA | TBA | TBA | TBA | TBA | TBA | 827 | [40] | |||
In 2025, Indigenous enrolments accounted for a total of 12%, and 13% of students had a Languages Other Than English background.[5] The trend has been:
Notable alumni
| Student | Achievement | Ref |
|---|---|---|
| Trent Dalton | Novelist and journalist | [69] |
| Jeremy Neale | Singer and songwriter | [69] |
| Kári Gíslason | Literature professor and author | [70] |
