Get Ready for School / Extra Co-curricular Activities
Be on campus before the first bell. Some sports train earlier — swim squads start at 6:30am.
Queensland, Australia
One Term. One Semester. One Year. A Lifetime of Memories.
Join real classes, play in real teams, and experience Australian culture with a local host family.
The Sunshine State
Beautiful, sunny Queensland — and John Paul College right in the middle of it
Queensland is the warm, north-eastern corner of Australia — and it keeps the same seasons as most of Latin America. John Paul College sits in Daisy Hill, between the city of Brisbane and the Gold Coast, with koalas in the trees beside the campus and surf beaches 45 minutes away. For 30 years we have welcomed students from other countries, for a term, a semester or a full year.
- BNE ——:—— — ——:—— Brisbane now — 13 to 16 hours ahead of Latin America
- Same seasons Summer starts in December, just like home
- 2032 Host city of the Olympic and Paralympic Games
- Top 30 Brisbane’s place among the world’s student cities
Summer (December–February) 27–30 °C · Winter (June–August) 20–23 °C · no snow, and sport outdoors in every term. Queensland does not use daylight saving, so its clock never shifts through the year.
Tap a numbered pin — or its row in the list — to see what is there.
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The river is the city. Everything worth doing in Brisbane sits on a bend of it — and it is thirty minutes from the school gate.
- South Bank & Streets Beach — a free man-made lagoon beach, with white sand, in the middle of the city.
- The CityCat ferry — the cheapest sightseeing in Brisbane; students ride it just to watch the skyline go past.
- Kayaking under the skyline — guided paddles run in the late afternoon, right past the Story Bridge.
- The riverside walk — bougainvillea arbours, the Wheel of Brisbane and the Kangaroo Point cliffs.
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A real capital city, but a friendly one — safe, walkable, and small enough that students find their way around in a fortnight.
- Queen Street Mall — the pedestrian shopping street at the centre of town.
- Museums and galleries — the Queensland Museum, GOMA and the State Library, all free to walk into.
- Eat Street Northshore — a weekend night market built inside shipping containers.
- Suncorp Stadium — football, rugby league and stadium concerts, in the middle of the city.
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Forty kilometres of surf beach, backed by a city of its own. For most of our students this is the ordinary Saturday they talk about for years.
- Surfers Paradise — patrolled surf, soft sand and a beachfront that runs for kilometres.
- Learn to surf — qualified instructors run beginner lessons; most students stand up on day one.
- Theme parks — Movie World, Dreamworld and Wet’n’Wild are all on the same road.
- Currumbin Wildlife Sanctuary — koalas, kangaroos and the daily lorikeet feeding.
- Burleigh Heads — a short rainforest headland walk that finishes at the beach.
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One of the largest sand islands in the world, and close enough to be a day trip. The water is clear enough to see straight through.
- Wild dolphins and turtles — seen from the North Gorge headland walk, most days of the year.
- Whale watching — humpbacks pass the headland between June and October.
- Cylinder Beach and Main Beach — calm swimming on one side, surf on the other.
- Quandamooka Country — the island is home to one of the world’s oldest living cultures.
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North of Brisbane, and gentler — this is where Queensland families go when they want a quiet weekend.
- Australia Zoo — the Irwin family’s wildlife park; koalas, kangaroos, crocodiles.
- The Glass House Mountains — volcanic peaks rising straight out of farmland.
- Noosa — a calm main beach beside a coastal national park full of koalas.
- Eumundi Markets — a famous Saturday market under fig trees.
Distances and travel times are approximate, by road unless noted. The map is a simplified illustration, not to scale.
The Campus
Thirty-three hectares of Australian bushland — see it from the air
You cannot fly here to look first. So here is the ground itself: everything inside the gold line is ours. Open a film to fly across it.
Want to look inside the buildings? Walk the campus in 360°
JPC Student Life
Your week at John Paul College
8:20 to 3:15 is school. The rest, you build.Classes run from 8:20am to 3:15pm, Monday to Friday — be on campus before the first bell. That part is the same every day. Everything around it is yours to choose.
Your subject timetable arrives before you fly. You choose your activities in your first week.
No two weeks look the same. What would you do after 3:15?
Same for every student
School
8:20am – 3:15pm · Monday to Friday
Same uniform, same timetable, same classes as every Australian student.
Lunch outside — two ovals, courts and bushland, almost every day of the year
After 3:15pm
Sport, music, a club
13+ inter-school sports, six student-led clubs, performing arts. All in your fee.
Tue & Thu · 3:30–6:00pm
Extended Day Program
From week 2: a mentor for homework, then a dinner cooked at school. Home by 6:30pm.
Sat & Sun · no bells
Your host family
Saturday sport in College colours, then free time — a barbecue, the koala sanctuary at Daisy Hill, or the coast.
Comprehensive Co-Curricular
Every sport, every stage, every club — already in the fee
You join in your first week, on the same terms as everyone else. Nothing extra to pay, nothing to audition for.
- 13+Inter-school sports
- 6Student-led clubs
- Prep–12Performing arts
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Basketball
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Swimming
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Rugby
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Football
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Dance
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Strings & bands
Play for the College
Thirteen inter-school sports, boys and girls, every term.
- Volleyball
- Football
- Basketball
- Swimming
- Rugby
Or take a stage
Bands, choirs, dance and drama — in a real theatre.
- College Musical
- Bands
- Dance
- Art Club
- Esports
JPC Premium Homestay
Experience Australian culture with a local host family
This is the part a hotel and a tour bus can never give you. Your child lives inside an ordinary Australian home — the Saturday barbecue, the drive to the beach, the football on the television, the jokes at the dinner table. English stops being a subject and becomes the way the house talks.
An ordinary Australian home
Full board and your own room, with a family who has been checked and visited before any student is placed.
English at the kitchen table
The fastest progress our students make is not in class. It is the hour after dinner, talking about nothing in particular.
Someone to call, 24 hours a day
The JPC CARE framework, plus specialist welfare staff for students under 18.
Weekends that belong to the family
The coast, a sanctuary, a cousin’s birthday, the markets. Students come home describing the Sundays, not the classrooms.
JPC CARE
Almost everything is already in the fee
Families comparing schools usually find the extras arrive later — uniform, a laptop, sport fees, airport pick-up, afternoon care. Here they are already in. This is what JPC CARE means in practice.
In your tuition
Every student, every program length.
- TuitionFully qualified high-school teachers
- A laptopSchool-issued, yours for the whole program
- The full uniformThe complete JPC uniform, not a partial set
- Sport, arts & clubsFull co-curricular access, nothing extra to pay
- A report cardReal evidence to take back to school at home
With Premium Homestay
Charged per week, and it carries the care.
- Airport transfersMet on arrival, taken to your homestay
- Student welfare support24 hours a day, with specialist care for under-18s
- Extended Day ProgramTuesday & Thursday, 3:30–6:00pm, with dinner
Not included: flights, the student visa, and Overseas Student Health Cover (OSHC) — the health insurance every international student in Australia must hold.
Your Classes
What can you study at John Paul College?
Whatever the rest of the class is studying. There are only two things to work out — which subjects, and which year level.
1
Which subjects?
Four core areas everyone takes, then electives you choose on arrival.
- EnglishLiterature, writing and speaking
- MathematicsSet by level, so the work fits
- SciencesBiology, chemistry and physics
- HumanitiesHistory, geography, Australian society
- BusinessEconomics and accounting
- Technology & DesignDigital, engineering, food, design
- The ArtsMusic, drama, dance, visual art
- Health & PEOutdoors, in every term
Core — everyone takes these Elective — you choose
2
Which year level?
Find your child’s age on the left. Select a row to open that year level in a new tab — or choose your country above to see your own year names instead.
Study Abroad runs from Year 7 to Year 11 — Year 12 is Australia’s final senior year, assessed across the whole year, so it cannot be joined for a term. A planning guide only: Admissions confirms placement from age, school reports and English level before you commit to anything.
A term is about ten weeks
Long enough for real friends and real progress in English. Our year runs late January to early December, in four terms.
Same seasons as home
South of the equator, December and January are summer in both places, so the school years line up more easily than they would in Europe.
Straight into normal classes
Entry is around CEFR B1 (about IELTS 5). Admissions checks your child’s English first, so nobody is placed in a class they cannot follow.
How to Apply
Tell us who you are
The steps are a little different depending on who is applying. Choose one and we will show you yours.
I am…
For parents
Start with a conversation
1
Ask us anything
Tell us your child’s year level and when they would like to come. Your local education agency can do this for you.
2
Pick the dates
We match a length of stay and a start date to your family’s plans and your own school calendar.
3
Paperwork, handled
For the student visa and the enrolment forms we point you to a registered agency near you.
4
Land and be met
We meet the flight, take your child to their homestay family, and settle them into class.
For students
Bring your parents in early
1
Read this with your parents
A parent or guardian has to sign the application, so bring them in from the start — then send us your questions together.
2
Check your year level
Send your recent school reports. Admissions confirms your year level and English before anything is committed.
3
Choose what you will do
Your subjects, and the sport, music and clubs you want to join. Full access is already in the fee.
4
Arrive and start
You are met at the airport, taken to your host family, and walked into your first class.
For education agents
Apply on behalf of your student
1
Log in or register
Sign in to the Enrolment Portal to lodge and track an application. Not a partner yet? Apply to become a JPC agent first.
2
Submit the application
School reports, English level and the dates the family wants. Track its progress in the Enrolment Portal.
3
We confirm the placement
Year level, homestay match and the offer letter come back to you.
4
We handle arrival
Airport transfer, 24-hour welfare and progress updates — with you kept in the loop.
Open the Enrolment Portal New to JPC? Become an agent Agent training
See term dates and start dates See the full application process
Questions Families Ask
The practical answers
Where exactly is John Paul College in Australia?
In Daisy Hill, on the east coast of Australia, in the state of Queensland. It sits between the city of Brisbane and the Gold Coast beaches — about 25 km from central Brisbane and about 50 km from the Gold Coast surf.
How long can my child come for?
From four weeks up to a full year. For Years 7 to 11 the minimum stay is one school term, which is about ten weeks. Many families start with one term and decide from there.
What is included in the fee?
Tuition includes a school-issued laptop for the whole program, the full uniform, full access to sport, activities and performing arts, and an end-of-program report card. Homestay students also receive airport transfers, welfare support and the Extended Day Program. Flights, the student visa and Overseas Student Health Cover (OSHC) are not included, and homestay is charged separately. See the full fee breakdown.
What English level does my child need?
Around CEFR B1 — about IELTS 5 — for Years 7 to 11. Admissions reviews school reports and English level before you commit to anything, and students who meet it join mainstream classes from the first day.
What is the weather like?
Brisbane is warm almost all year. Winters are mild and dry, so sport is played outdoors in every term and the beaches are usable for most of the year.
Where will my child live, and who looks after them?
With a caring, JPC-approved Australian family in JPC Premium Homestay — full board and a single room. Support is available 24 hours a day, with specialist welfare staff for students under 18. See Premium Homestay.
What time does the school day start and finish?
Classes run from 8:20am to 3:15pm, Monday to Friday, and students must be on campus before the first bell. Some sports train before school from about 6:30am. Sport, music and clubs run after 3:15pm, and homestay students also attend the Extended Day Program on Tuesday and Thursday afternoons.
What does a typical week look like?
Every week has the same shape, but the activities are your child’s own choice. Classes run 8:20am to 3:15pm in mainstream Australian classes. Some sports train before school. After 3:15pm students choose from more than 13 inter-school sports, performing arts and six student-led clubs, all included in tuition. On Tuesday and Thursday, from the second week of term, homestay students attend the Extended Day Program for supervised study and a community dinner, and are driven home by 6:30pm. Weekends are free time with the host family. See the week hour by hour.
What happens after school?
The Extended Day Program runs on Tuesday and Thursday afternoons, from the second week of each term, finishing at 6:00pm — supervised study with academic mentors, wellbeing activities and a staff-prepared community dinner, with transport home by 6:30pm. It is included in Premium Homestay. See the Extended Day Program.
Can a group of students come together?
Yes. If an agency or a school is placing three or more students starting at the same time, we have separate group arrangements. Make an agent enquiry.
What if my child wants to stay longer?
Many do. Students can continue into full enrolment and an Australian senior-school pathway when the time feels right — our graduates go on to leading universities in Australia and overseas. See where it can lead.
Some things you only get to do once
A term in Queensland is one of them. Tell us about your child and our International Admissions Team will guide you, step by step — dates, homestay, fees, all of it. Prefer to speak with someone closer to home? Your local education agency can help you enquire.