Named a 5-Star Best School for 2026
For the second year in a row, The Educator has named John Paul College one of Australia’s 5-Star Best Schools — an award judged on student support, safety and belonging, not only on results.
Choosing a school in another country is one of the biggest decisions a family can make. You cannot visit every classroom. You cannot meet every teacher. So independent recognition matters.
This month, John Paul College was named one of The Educator’s 5-Star Best Schools 2026 — for the second year in a row. For families and education agents around the world, this award answers the question we are asked most often: will my child be looked after?
An award judged on care, not only results
The 5-Star Best Schools report looks beyond exam results. Schools are assessed against six pillars — and four of the six describe exactly what an international family needs from a school on the other side of the world: support, safety, belonging, and care for the whole child.
What is assessed
The six pillars
- Comprehensive student support
- Safety and wellbeing initiatives
- Diversity and inclusion
- Innovative extracurricular programs
- Technology in learning
- Holistic student development
Read that list again. It is a description of daily life at school, not a table of marks. See the full JPC award record.
In practice
What this looks like for an international student
Recognition is only paper unless students feel it every day. At John Paul College, the pillars are ordinary practice.
Comprehensive support
Our international team walks with every student from the airport to graduation — the JPC CARE Framework, specialist welfare staff for students under 18, and a 24/7 emergency line.
Safety and wellbeing
John Paul College also holds the Best Student Wellbeing Program award from the Australian Education Awards 2024. Wellbeing here is a program with staff and structure, not a poster on a wall.
Diversity and inclusion
Students and families from 45 nationalities make JPC one of Queensland’s most globally connected school communities. A new student from Seoul, São Paulo or Ho Chi Minh City is not unusual here. They are welcomed, and quickly at home.
Holistic development
Sport, music, performing arts and clubs are part of every student’s week, and international students join on the same terms as everyone else — often in their first week, which is often where a first friendship begins.
Second year in a row — consistency you can trust
Any school can have one good year. Recognition two years in a row shows a system that works, and keeps working. It sits inside a longer record:
- 2026The Educator — 5-Star Best School
- 2026Premier of Queensland’s Export Awards — finalist
- 2025The Educator — 5-Star Best School
- 2025Australia’s Top 100 Private Schools
- 2024Australian Education Awards — Best Student Wellbeing Program
- 2024The Educator — 5-Star Innovative School
For education agents, this consistency is the story to tell families: an independent, Early Learning to Year 12 college on 33 hectares in Brisbane’s south, recognised year after year for how it teaches and how it cares. Strong ATAR results and university pathways matter — and so does the school a student comes home to at 3pm. Partner with JPC as an education agent.
Common questions
About this award
What is The Educator’s 5-Star Best Schools award?
It is an annual report by The Educator, an Australian education publication. It recognises schools that create real opportunities for student success, judged across six pillars including student support, safety and wellbeing, and diversity.
Has John Paul College won this award before?
Yes. 2026 is the second year in a row that JPC has been named a 5-Star Best School. The College was also named a 5-Star Innovative School in 2023 and 2024, and held a 5-Star Sustainable Program in 2024.
Does this recognition cover international students?
The award assesses the whole school — and international students learn in the same classrooms, teams and programs as every Australian student. The pillars of support, safety and inclusion describe the daily experience of our international community of 45 nationalities.
How can my child join John Paul College?
Start with a conversation. Our International Admissions Team will guide you through year level, English requirements, accommodation and start dates — step by step. Talk to our team.
Your child, in a school the judges rate 5-Star
Awards do not raise children. People do. But when independent judges look closely at a school two years in a row, families far from Australia can feel what our parents here already know: students at John Paul College are known, supported and cared for.