Merrimac State High School

Merrimac State High School is a public high school in Mermaid Waters (Queensland, Australia).^[1][2] The school falls within Division 12 of Gold Coast council.^[8]

Merrimac State High School
Location
Dunlop Court Mermaid Waters , Queensland , 4218 Australia[1][2]
Coordinates	28.0400°S 153.4177°E / -28.0400; 153.4177
Information
Type	State secondary day school
Motto	Pride in excellence[3]
Established	1979[4][1]
Principal	Rachel Cutajar[3][2]
Year levels	Year 7 – Year 12[4][2]
Gender	Coeducational[5]
Enrolment	970
Campus size	10.4 acres (0.042 km2)[6]
Colour(s)	Green   Black[7]
Website	merrimacshs.eq.edu.au[1]

Students

Years

In 2015, Anna Bligh's state-wide "Flying Start" program was officially implemented to align Queensland with the other states by transferring year 7 into the high school system,^[9] meaning that in 2015 Merrimac State High School started catering for years 7 – 12.^[10][11]

Student enrolments

In 2023, Merrimac State High School was reported to have a maximum student enrolment capacity of 1,492 students.^[12]

The trend in school enrolments (August figures) has been:-

Year	Years						Gender		Total	Ref
	7	8	9	10	11	12	Boys	Girls
2010	-	-	-	-	-	-	679	613	1,292	[13]
2011	-	-	-	-	-	-	640	590	1,230	[14]
2012	-	-	-	-	-	-	690	618	1,308	[15]
2013	-	-	-	-	-	-	662	651	1,313	[16]
2014	-	-	-	-	-	-	660	619	1,279	[10][17]
Addition of year 7
2015	-	-	-	-	-	-	699	700	1,399	[11][18]
2016	-	-	-	-	-	-	636	622	1,258	[19][20]
2017	-	-	-	-	-	-	628	579	1,207	[21][22]
2018	-	-	-	-	-	-	605	595	1,200	[23][24]
2019	-	-	-	-	-	-	605	624	1,229	[25][26]
2020	217	234	197	210	194	182	623	611	1,234	[27][28]
2021	250	220	235	183	192	143	623	600	1,223	[29][30]
2022	224	225	203	208	167	147	593	581	1,174	[31][32]
2023	165	203	210	191	199	115	557	526	1,083	[5][33]
2024	177	144	199	181	176	142	513	506	1,019	[34]
2025	151	172	138	195	170	144	TBA	TBA	970

Notable alumni

Sports

Sports

Name	Graduation Date	Sport	Achievement	Ref
Marcus Ashcroft	1988	Australian rules football	Former professional Australian rules footballer for Brisbane Bears and Brisbane Lions, and Gold Coast football coaching panel member. The Marcus Ashcroft Medal is named after him.	[35]
Caine Eckstein	2003	Surf lifesaving	Ironman champion	[35]
Grant Hackett	1997	Swimming	Former professional Australian swimmer, gold medallist and world record holder, former "Regan Funds Management" Director, and current chief executive officer of "Generation Life".[36]	[37][35][38]
Trevor Hendy	1986	Surf lifesaving	Ironman Champion and professional kayaker	[35]
Steven McLuckie	1990	Australian rules football	Former Australian rules footballer for Brisbane Bears, 1993 Queensland-Northern Territory State of Origin squad member, 2000 Joe Grant Medal winner,[39] and Gold Coast school principal.	[40][35]
Amber Pilley	2014	Australian rugby league footballer	Center for both the Brisbane Broncos Women's Team and Indigenous All Stars.	[35]
Ricky Petterd	2005	Australian rules football	Former Australian rules football player Melbourne Football Club and Richmond Football Club.	[41][35]

Entertainment

Entrainment

Name	Graduation date	Achievement	Ref
Pete Evans	1990	Chef, author, and My Kitchen Rules judge	[35]

See also

• Queensland portal

• Education in Queensland
• History of state education in Queensland
• List of schools in Gold Coast, Queensland
• List of schools in Queensland
• Lists of schools in Australia