Indooroopilly State High School

Indooroopilly State High School
Location
Brisbane , Queensland , 4068 Australia
Coordinates	27°30′03″S152°59′06″E / 27.5009°S 152.9851°E / -27.5009; 152.9851
Information
Type	Public
Motto	A Community Of Forward Thinkers
Established	1954
Principal	Sheena Millar
Grades	7 - 12
Enrolment	2851 (2024)
Capacity	2140
Campus	Indooroopilly
Houses	Lawson, Evans, Kendall, Patterson
Website	https://indoorooshs.eq.edu.au

Indooroopilly State High School (ISHS), colloquially known as "Indro", is a state high school situated in the south-western suburb of Indooroopilly in Brisbane, Queensland, Australia. The school was founded in 1954, ^[1] and offers the International Baccalaureate Diploma Programme, ^[2] along with a large curriculum catering to junior and senior students at the school. ^[3]

Although the school is a non-uniform school it does have a sports uniform which students are required to wear during all interschool sports events. ^[4]

Some of the Indooroopilly State High School Buildings are listed on the Queensland Heritage Register. ^[5]

Facilities

The school is made up of 24 different blocks. They are named in letter form in the order in which they were built. The letters range from A to Z. Some of the facilities at the school include: ^[6]

• Confucius Institute Classroom
• Dance and Art studios with a pottery kiln and film developing room
• Flight Simulator
• Student Centre
• Performance and Lecture Theatre
• Science and Cisco Networking laboratories
• Video conferencing center
• A new school tuck shop (X Block)
• The Multi-Purpose Hall (MPH, W Block), the MPH houses one of the biggest LCD screens in a school setting, 3 sport courts, sport tracking cameras and much more. ^[6] The hall has many uses but its main purpose is to allow the school to host all schools assemblies, which have previously not been possible due to the high number of students at the school. ^[7]
• The recent state-of-the-art Innovation and Design Centre (V Block) - featuring 26 tertiary-style learning spaces, including a broadcast-quality Film and Multimedia Production Studio, and Engineering, Robotics, Design, STEM, Science and Aerospace Labs, outdoor learning spaces, eating areas, amphitheater, lockable power outlets for student's laptop charging, courtyard, and secure undercover bike, scooter and skateboard storage. ^[6]

Curriculum

Like all other state high schools in Queensland, ISHS adheres to Australian curriculum standards set by the Australian Curriculum, Assessment and Reporting Authority (ACARA). Senior high school students may graduate with a Queensland Certificate of Education or an International Baccalaureate Diploma. Various VET courses are also offered.

ISHS also offers some Programs of Excellence which are not available under the normal curriculum, including Spanish Immersion, Chinese Acceleration, and Maths and Engineering Acceleration. ^[8]

Culture

Cultural practice is promoted by the school as a central part of the learning environment. The school has many celebrations and festivals throughout the school year, which include art exhibitions, concerts, dance productions, drama productions and a musical. One significant festival that is held every year is United Nations Day, where ISHS encourages its student body to celebrate their cultural or ethnic background, be it through the wearing of traditional national clothing or on stage performances. The celebrations are initiated with an opening ceremony, during which the Parade of Nations takes place. The parade consists of flag bearers and traditional dress costumes. International food stalls also play a large part in these UN day celebrations. Overall, ISHS has a multicultural community with approximately 43% of the school's population being international students. ^[9] Some special Assemblies are held at the MPH and all students and teachers must attend. Some include NAIDOC, ANZAC Day, Remembrance Day and most notably Mrs O'Reilley's farewell assembly as she retired after being principal for 20 years. ^[10] Student clubs are prevalent, such as Indooroopilly Voices (the choir), SRC (Student Representative Council) and Writers' Society.

2021 COVID Scare

During the COVID-19 pandemic, a student at the school returned a positive test result to COVID-19. ^[11] As the student had been attending the school for a two day period while infectious, an immediate closure of the school was required. The closure was to last a minimum of two days so a deep clean could be performed. The Queensland Department of Education had initially said they expected the school would re-open after the deep clean was performed, ^[11] however this turned out to not be the case. The school was made a COVID-19 exposure site. This meant anyone who was at the school while the symptomatic student was in attendance would have to undertake a 14-day isolation period and undertake a COVID-19 Test. As most of the school was in attendance at the same time frame, the majority of the school and staff had to undertake a 14-day isolation period. During the 14-day isolation period the school switched over to online learning and implemented its online learning policy where students interacted with their teachers through Microsoft Teams, OneNote, Word and PowerPoint through their own laptops. Due to the high volume of people needed to be tested, the oval was turned into a temporary drive through COVID-19 Testing site for a short time. ^[11]

70th Anniversary Celebrations

On 11 October 2025, the school held celebrations for the 70th anniversary of its founding. During this event, overseen by then principal Michael Hornby, the graduating class of 1954 was invited to return, as well as the rest of the school's alumni. A time capsule was sealed, containing memorabilia, such as the SRC Constitution, to be opened on the 100th anniversary in 2054. ^{[12] [13]}

Notable alumni

• Dane Bird-Smith, athlete who represented Australia and won a Bronze medal in the 20 kilometres race walk in the 2016 Summer Olympics. ^[14]
• Peter C. Doherty, medical researcher, Nobel Laureate 1996, Australian of the Year 1997.
• Katherine Feeney, radio presenter
• Peter Greste, Al Jazeera journalist and former Indooroopilly State High school captain.
• George Negus, author, journalist and host of Network Ten's current affairs programme 6PM with George Negus.
• Chloe Shorten, journalist and wife of Bill Shorten.
• Jillian Whiting, Brisbane news reader and television host.
• Barry Gomersall, Australian rugby league referee who refereed six rugby league internationals and nine State of Origin series matches.

See also

• Queensland portal
• Schools portal

• Queensland State High Schools

References

1. "Alumni". Indooroopilly State High School. 29 May 2020. Retrieved 16 July 2022.
2. "Indooroopilly State High School". International Baccalaureate®. Retrieved 16 July 2022.
3. "Indooroopilly State High School". Education Queensland International. Retrieved 16 July 2022.
4. "Student Dress Standard Policy". Indooroopilly State High School. 2020.
5. "Indooroopilly State High School (entry 650035)". Queensland Heritage Register . Queensland Heritage Council. Retrieved 15 February 2018.
6. "Facilities". Indooroopilly State High School. 9 December 2019. Retrieved 3 August 2021.
7. "School Map". Indooroopilly State High School. 12 July 2021. Retrieved 3 August 2021.
8. "Programs of Excellence". Indooroopilly State High. 27 May 2020.
9. "MySchool". Myschool.edu.au. Retrieved 20 March 2019.
10. "History". 2 October 2024.
11. "Uni campus closed after staff visited Brisbane school where student tested positive for COVID". www.abc.net.au. 29 July 2021. Retrieved 3 August 2021.
12. "Indro's 70th Anniversary Celebration". Indooroopilly State High School. 29 August 2024. Retrieved 24 July 2025.
13. "CONSTITUTION OF INDOOROOPILLY STATE HIGH SCHOOL STUDENT REPRESENTATIVE COUNCIL" (PDF). Indooroopilly State High School. 4 October 2024. Retrieved 24 July 2025.
14. "Dane Bird-Smith". Archived from the original on 19 February 2017. Retrieved 22 June 2018.