Catholic Education, Diocese of Cairns
Queensland, Australia
Motto | Luceat Lux Vestra 'Let Your Light Shine' |
![]() |
Address | 15 Broadway, HERBERTON QLD 4887 | |
Postal Address | PO Box 14, HERBERTON QLD 4887 | |
Phone Number | (07) 4096 1444 | |
Fax Number | (07) 4096 2509 | |
Email Address | office@msb.qld.edu.au | |
Web Site | http://www.msb.qld.edu.au | |
Total Enrolments | 191 | ![]() |
Year Levels Offered | 7-12 | |
Student Population | Co-Educational | |
Principal | Ian Margetts | |
Parish Priest | Fr Barry Craig | |
Parish Number | (07) 4091 1125 |
About our School Mount St Bernard College is located at Herberton, on the Atherton Tablelands. Established in 1921 by the Sisters of Mercy as a day and boarding school, the College enjoys a proud history and a rich tradition. The Sisters of Mercy began their educational ministry in the Herberton district over 100 years ago with the opening of St Patrick's Parish Catholic primary school in 1910. Responding to the changing educational needs in far north Queensland, the original Sisters of Mercy Boarding School, St Mary's Cooktown, was moved to Herberton in 1921. The Sisters of Mercy gifted the college to the Diocese of Cairns in February 2006 and it is now administered by Cairns Catholic Education Services. As a Catholic school, Mount St Bernard College is open to all who support its values and are seeking a holistic education. The College serves local students from the Tablelands district. With Boarding facilities on-site, Mount St Bernard College also reaches out to students from the remote communities of Cape York, the Gulf of Carpentaria, the Torres Strait, Northern Territory & Papua New Guinea. As a coeducational boarding school, the College enrolment reflects a broad spectrum of cultures and experiences. Mount St Bernard College strives to enable its students to develop a broad range of skills enabling them to become the persons God created them to be. Small class sizes and excellent pastoral support allows Mount St Bernard College to provide meaningful, personalised pathways for students in a well-supported environment.
Characteristics of Student Body
Students come from far and wide to study at Mount St Bernard College.
School Annual Improvement
Each year Mount St Bernard College reviews data to set a school annual improvement plan. The priorities were; Goals set were (by the end of 2018):
Distinctive Curriculum Offerings The Mount St Bernard College curriculum has been designed to provide diverse pathways to meet the wide ranging of needs of the students we serve. We offer a broad curriculum intended to contribute to the deep learning and holistic development of students. Core classes in the junior secondary are purposefully grouped to provide opportunities for extension or learning support Years 7 to 10 curriculum program includes core subjects Religion, Mathematics, Science, English, Humanities and Health and Physical Education. Year 7 & 8 students' study 'elective' subjects on rotational basis in areas that include Digital Technologies, Visual Art, Food & Textile, Industrial Technology and Music and in Year 9 & 10 they are able to choose from an extensive list that includes these areas as they explore in more depth their interests and possible career pathways. In response to the needs of individuals and their breadth of aspirations, a Mount St Bernard College senior (Years 11 & 12) education program can help prepare young people for direct entry into the world of work or lay the foundation for tertiary studies through our academic programs. A range of Vocational Education & Training (VET) offerings complement the academic curriculum. These include VET certificate training in the areas of IT, Engineering, Education Support, Sport and Recreation, Rural Operations, Hospitality and Health. MSB is renowned for its expedition programme. Individuals have an opportunity to challenge their comfort zone and develop traits of self-reliance, leadership and teamwork through these outdoor education experiences.
Extra Curricular Activities Extra-curricular activities throughout 2018 included;
Social Climate Mount St Bernard College is a school in the Mercy tradition. As a Catholic school, the values of Mercy education - love, respect, participation, service and personal best effort - have endured as proud traditions at the heart of the life of the College. Mount St Bernard College is committed to providing a safe, respectful and disciplined learning environment for students and staff where students have opportunities to engage in quality learning experiences and acquire values supportive of their lifelong wellbeing. Mount St Bernard College values respect, participation and personal best. Students are supported to respect themselves, fellow students and adult members of the school community. Respect is experienced in positive relationships, affirming language and peaceful actions. Respect for school facilities and the surrounding environment is also promoted. Importantly, student respect for the purpose of school is observed in students' positive engagement in their learning. Bullying behaviours are proactively addressed by MSB's structured development of students' Social Emotional skills. Mount St Bernard College's Student Wellbeing Team respond to individual bullying incidents to both support students subjected to unwanted and inappropriate behaviours and assist students engaging in bullying behaviours to address their inappropriate attitudes and actions. Wellbeing support in Boarding School Wide Positive Behaviour Support is designed to facilitate high standards of behaviour so that learning and teaching can be effective and students can participate positively within our College community. A school-wide positive behavior lesson is taught each week in all year levels to support students to make good choices. A social emotional learning program is also implemented in Year 7 - 10 for 1 lesson per week.
Parent Engagement We are committed to building strong partnerships with parents through regular contact and encouraging open relationships between staff and parents supportive of students' growth and learning. This is assisted by formal structures that included in 2018:
Parent Satisfaction Each year Parent satisfaction surveys are released and the following results have been identified in 2018;
Data Last Updated Tue 28 May 2019
Qualification Highest level of attainment | Doctoral / Post-doctoral | Masters | Bachelor degree | Diploma | Certificate |
Number of staff with this qualification | 0 | 5 | 13 | 9 | 1 |
Workforce composition |
Headcount | FTE (Full-time equivalent) |
Teaching Staff | 33 | 30.4 |
Non-Teaching Staff | 68 | 44.61 |
Indigenous | 8 | 5.63 |
Total funds expended on teacher professional development$38264
Teaching Staff Involved in Professional Development100%
Major Professional Development Initiatives Professional development activities in 2018 included:
Average staff attendance rate for the school year, based on unplanned absences of sick and emergency leave for periods up to 5 days95%
Percentage of teaching staff retained from the previous school year78.00%
Staff Satisfaction Each year Staff satisfaction surveys are released and the following results have been identified in 2018;
Data Last Updated Tue May 28 2019
YR 7 | YR 8 | YR 9 | YR 10 | YR 11 | YR 12 |
92.44% | 92.4% | 89.25% | 90.24% | 90.79% | 90.56% |
Parents are encouraged to contact the school on the day that a student is absent. If students are absent without notification, a Mount St Bernard College staff member telephones parents on that day.
Mount St Bernard College has a proactive Wellbeing Team who monitors and supports student attendance. Individual students at risk through non-attendance are counselled and supported to maximise their participation.
Boarding students have regular roll calls. If a boarding student is unwell they remain in the Morrissey Boarding House or in the Health Centre.
This is a summary of the post-school destinations of students from Mount St Bernard College who completed Year 12 and gained a Senior Statement in 2018. The results are from the Year 12 Completers Survey, which is conducted approximately six months after students completed Year 12.
5 out of 22 (22.7% response rate) Year 12 completers from this school responded to the 2019 survey. Due to the very low response rate, care should be taken interpreting these results.
In 2019, four Year 12 completers from Mount St Bernard College were engaged in education, training or employment in the year after they completed school.
Of the five respondents, three continued in some recognised form of education and training. The most common study destination was bachelor degree.
A further one respondent transitioned directly into paid employment and no further study.
Catholic Education Services conducted a School Results Survey with students of Mount St Bernard College (Herberton) in 2018.
Mount St Bernard College provides educational services to students from 138 families.
Survey responses were received from 66 out of a total of 164 eligible respondents.
Mount St Bernard College recorded an overall satisfaction of 78% (3.9 out of 5).
Data Last Updated Tue Nov 19 2019
Reading | Average Score for the school | 442.2 |
Average Score for Queensland | 549.4 | |
% students at or above the national benchmark | 51.7% | |
Writing | Average Score for the school | 397.4 |
Average Score for Queensland | 506.4 | |
% students at or above the national benchmark | 33.3% | |
Spelling | Average Score for the school | 443.9 |
Average Score for Queensland | 554.7 | |
% students at or above the national benchmark | 63.3% | |
Grammar and Punctuation | Average Score for the school | 451 |
Average Score for Queensland | 553.8 | |
% students at or above the national benchmark | 72.4% | |
Numeracy | Average Score for the school | 473.3 |
Average Score for Queensland | 549 | |
% students at or above the national benchmark | 73.3% |
Data Last Updated Thu May 30 2019
Reading | Average Score for the school | 561.1 |
Average Score for Queensland | 590.1 | |
% students at or above the national benchmark | 55.2% | |
Writing | Average Score for the school | 432.3 |
Average Score for Queensland | 543.4 | |
% students at or above the national benchmark | 35.5% | |
Spelling | Average Score for the school | 506.6 |
Average Score for Queensland | 590.4 | |
% students at or above the national benchmark | 61.3% | |
Grammar and Punctuation | Average Score for the school | 532.2 |
Average Score for Queensland | 598.3 | |
% students at or above the national benchmark | 86.7% | |
Numeracy | Average Score for the school | 523 |
Average Score for Queensland | 587.5 | |
% students at or above the national benchmark | 61.3% |
Data Last Updated Thu May 30 2019
No Naplan Data AvailableAustralian Government recurrent funding$7,859,049
State/Territory Government recurrent funding$2,248,864
Fees, charges and parent contributions$4,367,568
Other private sources$583,923
Total gross income (excluding income from government capital grants)$15,059,404
Income allocated to current capital projects$463,422
Income allocated to future capital projects and diocesan capital funds$0
Income allocated to debt servicing (including principal repayments and interest on loans)$792,500
Subtotal$819,979
Total net recurrent income$819,979
Catholic schools in the Diocese of Cairns meet their annual reporting requirements under the Education (General Provisions) Act 2006 (the Act) Section 423 (1) by updating their information on this section of the Cairns Catholic Education website. Information contained in each section of the report relates to the previous calendar year. The required information is published by 30 June each year, excepting post-school destinations data for Year 12 completers which is published by 30 September.