Coomera Anglican College

Thirty Years of Building Excellence, Community, and Future-Focused Learning

As Coomera Anglican College approaches its 30th anniversary, the school is inseparable from the story of the community around it. By Australian standards it is a young school— “29 years and about 360 days old,” as Principal, Patrick Innes-Hill put it—on the northern Gold Coast, it has become something of an icon. In fact, the College predates much of the surrounding suburb growth, having been established before Upper Coomera fully developed.

That position has allowed Coomera Anglican College not only to serve its community, but to actively help shape it, growing alongside families, local organisations, and the identity of the region itself.

Founded on an Anglican ethos and operating as a co-educational school, Coomera Anglican College describes its differentiator by exercising values of imagination, listening and respect, “always, everywhere, and for all people”. Rather than defining itself by a single flagship program, leadership of the College points to its four pillars of, Faith and Service, Teaching and Learning, Flourishing, People and Place. These are supported though a wide range offerings within Academic, Sport, Arts, Music, Leadership, Faith and Spirituality and Co-curricular opportunities. Students can begin in the Early Learning Centre at three years old, and the College prides itself on the importance it places on Nurturing Great Humans at every step of their journey.

Excellence in Real-World Subjects

Academically, Coomera Anglican College emphasises strong performance supported by a deliberate focus on “real-world subjects.” Its Science programs are a point of strength, alongside Media and other applied learning areas that encourage students to move beyond theory and toward problem-solving and learning for understanding rather than teaching for a test. In the middle years especially, the curriculum is designed to inspire exploration, helping students connect their learning to practical solutions and authentic challenges, rather than treating education as an abstract exercise. Coomera Anglican College approach is not simply to prepare students for assessment, rather to help them develop the skills and confidence to apply knowledge in meaningful contexts.

In sport, Coomera Anglican College is “kicking goals” both literally and figuratively. Basketball, Netball, Soccer, Rugby, and Athletics were highlighted as growing areas of competitive strength, supported by a Sports’ Academy that is integrated into the curriculum. For elite student athletes, this model allows high-performance training and development to

occur within the structure of the school day, an approach that leadership noted is still relatively uncommon and adds significant value to students balancing sport and education.

Prioritising the Arts

The Arts is another area of excellence at Coomera Anglican College and one where passion runs deep, particularly for Principal Innes-Hill, whose background is in the Arts. The College has a large and vibrant music community, with participation numbers and performance standards described as exceptional. Music, Drama, Choral programs, and broader creative opportunities are not treated as optional extras, but as fundamental expressions of the College culture, building confidence, good character, collaboration, and identity for students across all year levels.

Strong staff continuity within arts leadership has reinforced quality and high-level consistency, allowing all students the opportunity for success.

The identity of Coomera Anglican College becomes most distinctive in how it weaves its service, learning and faith perspective through every aspect of College life. Under the guiding principle of “Nurturing Great Humans who can make a positive difference in the world,”

Coomera Anglican College integrates service, leadership, and community contribution, co-curricular activity, and international programs.

Putting the Community First Through Continued Outreach

Students participate in meaningful service initiatives through partnerships and outreach, and the school has facilitated community service opportunities that range from local engagement to broader experiences such as trips to Cairns, the Sunshine Coast, and planned international service learning in Fiji. In the view of the College, it is not limited to students being high achievers, what matters most is shaping graduates who act with purpose and character while understanding responsibility, empathy, and their capacity to contribute.

This College philosophy is also reflected in their approach to capital investment and infrastructure. Recently, Coomera Anglican College opened a major Secondary School building (The Hub) designed around future focused learning. The facility supports modern programs such as Media, ICT, and the Arts, while still preserving traditional learning anchors like a central library serving as an intentional balance between innovation and foundation.

With The Hub project complete, Coomera Anglican College is taking a brief pause before moving into its next investment cycle, which will focus on enhancing drama facilities, expanding sport spaces, strengthening wellbeing services, and redesigning parts of the Primary campus to align with the evolving needs of contemporary education. These investments are shaped not only by program ambition, but by growth, with student numbers increasing and the College community footprint expanding accordingly.

A Distinct Culture Built on Clear Values

Staff culture is another defining advantage, particularly in an era where teacher retention and workforce shortages remain top-of-mind across education systems globally. With approximately 250 staff, leadership describes the environment as warm, friendly, energetic, highly collaborative, and—most tellingly—joyful. While “joyful” may sound like a soft descriptor, Coomera Anglican College frames it as a strategic asset: when staff demonstrate joy in their work, students are more likely to find joy in learning, and that emotional engagement translates directly into improved educational outcomes. It is a culture that embraces hard work, but insists that meaningful work can still be fun, relational, and deeply human.

Professional development is treated as an essential lever for sustaining that culture and strengthening instruction. Staff are encouraged to identify areas where they want to develop, and leadership works to connect them with the best available pathways, whether that’s training, mentorship, or targeted upskilling aligned to strategic priorities. This approach reinforces Coomera Anglican College as an employer of choice, attracting educators who want both excellence and a supportive environment.

Community involvement remains central to the operating philosophy of Coomera Anglican College. The College has positioned itself as the “heartbeat” of a young and expanding community, and its engagement is structured intentionally. Coomera Anglican College has a strong network of community and corporate partners who believe in their philanthropic mission of Empowering Change. 

Coomera Anglican College also builds relationships through the local social service sector, partnering with charities and community organisations and maintaining an active connection to the Anglican Diocese in Brisbane and local church communities. Importantly, the community lens is not limited to local engagement,

it extends outward in an intentional progression, moving from local to regional, national, and international partnerships as initiatives scale.

Looking Ahead

From a development standpoint, Rebecca Pott, Head of Community Development, highlighted another layer of strength: the energy of the extended community. Parents are engaged, alumni maintain a strong connection, and there is an active spirit of “giving back” that helps sustain the momentum of the College. That sense of care across families, friends, and graduates reinforces both culture and continuity, supporting long-term stability.

Principal Innes-Hill’s vision is unapologetically ambitious. Coomera Anglican College is known for their exceptional students, and his benchmark is simple: when graduates tell future employers they attended Coomera Anglican College, the response should be immediate respect, because the College is known for excellence, for producing capable young people with good character, and for developing graduates with genuine heart and community-minded leadership. In the short term, that vision is powered by growth: more students mean more families, more reach, and more capacity to serve the broader community with increasing authenticity and care.

Coomera Anglican College believes technology must be embraced, and mastered responsibly. Staff have been working for several years on their approach to AI in particular, not simply exploring what tools can do, rather focusing on how to teach students to use emerging technology ethically, thoughtfully, and effectively.

The guiding principle is clear: technology should be a brilliant servant, not a dangerous master. By staying ahead of the curve and making intentional decisions around practice, policy, and pedagogy, Coomera Anglican College aims to ensure students graduate as capable users of technology who can apply it for the good of others, not as passive consumers.

In a broader workforce context, the College remains focused on helping students navigate future pathways through strong Senior Secondary guidance, while also remaining vigilant about teacher recruitment and retention. In a global environment where educator shortages are real and growing, Coomera Anglican College remains an attractor—through a strong wellbeing focus, meaningful professional development, and a culture that is both high-performing and deeply enjoyable to be a part of.

With three decades of impact behind it, a Foundation Principal, Dr. Mark Sly, who served 26 years, and long-serving staff who have helped carry the culture across generations of students, Coomera Anglican College enters its next chapter with momentum under the leadership of current Principal, Patrick Innes-Hill.

Coomera Anglican College Foundation – Empowering Change

What’s in a Name: Seating Dreams, Shaping Futures.

AT A GLANCE

Who: Coomera Anglican College

What: A school steeped in tradition and values, looking to an innovative academic future

Where: Gold Coast, Australia

Website: www.cac.qld.edu.au

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