Burnside State High School currently has approximately 850 students in years 7 to 12. Our school services the surrounding areas of Burnside, Perwillowen, Nambour, North Arm, Yandina, Coolum, Bli Bli, Coes Creek, Mapleton and Woombye. Our school is staffed with 84 teachers and 58 support personnel, all highly qualified and experienced educators. They are committed to providing quality public education. Additional support is provided by a fulltime Guidance Officer, a school chaplain and a school nurse.
The school buildings and playing fields occupy an extensive area of land (approximately 30 acres) between Blaxland and Windsor Roads. Our school buildings are Education Queensland standard in design and include general teaching areas and specialist areas for home economics, art, industrial technology, science, social studies, information technology, physical education and business studies. A modern resource centre, administration block and newly upgraded computer laboratories complete the school’s suite of facilities. We also have on site, the Burnside Professional Learning Centre which provides a conference facility for up to 80 people.
Supporting Teenagers with Education, Mothering and Mentoring (STEMM) program is based at Burnside State High School. The students come from across the Sunshine Coast and usually have disengaged from their previous school before they enrol at STEMM. STEMM was awarded an Australian Excellence in Teaching Award in 2009 and a National Australia Bank Schools Impact Award in 2010 for community partnerships. STEMM was also a Showcase State Winner for Innovation in 2012. Burnside State High School offers a quality education in a caring, safe, small-school setting. We see our relatively small enrolment as being advantageous for the following reasons:
Small class numbers
Wide selection of subjects
More personal attention
Greater access to support services, including career and guidance
Greater access to education services - computers, sporting equipment and library resources
A more thorough knowledge and understanding of each student by staff
Increased contact between the school and families
Burnside State High School has been acknowledged in 2011 and 2012 for having a leading senior school curriculum by being awarded a Showcase Award in Senior Phase and being a Showcase finalist. Burnside State High School has also been awarded a 'Highly Commended' award for our International Program in 2017 and in 2018 Burnside State High School was a finalist at the Indian and Australian Business Community Awards for our partnership and Sister School Program established in India.
We are often applauded for our staff’s commitment to the students and the school’s more holistic approach to education. We aim and succeed at finding positive outcomes for all our students. Our flexible approach, coupled with a determination to develop our students into good citizens, means that every student at Burnside has the opportunity for success. Smaller, Smarter, Safer, that’s Burnside State High School.