Top 20 State Primary Schools in Moreton Bay: 2025 Results, Catchments and Enrolment Plans
By Tim AllenBuyer’s Agent and Director, IPS Buyer’s Agents
The top state primary schools in Moreton Bay on 2025 academic results are Patricks Road State School at Ferny Hills, Albany Hills State School at Albany Creek and Samford State School at Samford Village. They are the only Moreton Bay state schools in Better Education’s 2025 list of Brisbane’s top 100 public primary schools, at 64th, 71st and 79th.[1]
This guide ranks every state school with primary years in the City of Moreton Bay council area (no Brisbane or Sunshine Coast schools) by Better Education’s 2025 State Overall Score,[2] shows which of the top 20 run an enrolment management plan, and explains how to check a home’s catchment before you buy.
Key takeaways
- Patricks Road (95), Albany Hills (94) and Samford (93) lead Moreton Bay’s 2025 scores, and Mango Hill State School (90) is the highest-ranked state school around North Lakes.[2]
- Four schools share 20th place on 81, so our top 20 has 23 schools in 18 suburbs.
- Seventeen of the 23 run an enrolment management plan (EMP), so a child who lives outside the catchment gets a place only if the school has room.[3]
- Every state school has a catchment, but it is enforced only where the school runs an EMP,[4] and six of the 23 had none on the 1 October 2026 list.[3]
- To prove you live in an EMP school’s catchment you need a current lease, rates notice or unconditional contract of sale, plus a utility bill, and your child must be living there when you apply.[5]
What are the top 20 state primary schools in Moreton Bay?
On Better Education’s 2025 State Overall Score, the top 20 places in Moreton Bay go to 23 state schools, led by Patricks Road (95), Albany Hills (94), Samford (93) and Mango Hill (90).[2] Schools on the same score share a rank (marked =) and are listed alphabetically. The suburb is the school’s own address and links to our suburb report. The last column shows whether the school is on the Department of Education’s enrolment management plan (EMP) list of 1 October 2026.[3]
| Rank | State primary school | Suburb | 2025 score | EMP |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Patricks Road State School | Ferny Hills | 95 | Yes |
| 2 | Albany Hills State School | Albany Creek | 94 | Yes |
| 3 | Samford State School | Samford Village | 93 | No |
| 4 | Mango Hill State School | Mango Hill | 90 | Yes |
| =5 | Eatons Hill State School | Eatons Hill | 89 | Yes |
| =5 | Ferny Hills State School | Ferny Hills | 89 | No |
| =7 | Dayboro State School | Dayboro | 88 | Yes |
| =7 | Mount Samson State School | Mount Samson | 88 | No |
| 9 | Mount Mee State School | Mount Mee | 87 | No |
| =10 | Banksia Beach State School | Banksia Beach | 86 | Yes |
| =10 | Scarborough State School | Scarborough | 86 | Yes |
| 12 | Undurba State School | Murrumba Downs | 85 | Yes |
| =13 | Kurwongbah State School | Petrie | 84 | Yes |
| =13 | Narangba Valley State School | Narangba | 84 | Yes |
| 15 | Albany Creek State School | Albany Creek | 83 | No |
| =16 | Bounty Boulevard State School | North Lakes | 82 | Yes |
| =16 | Burpengary Meadows State School | Burpengary | 82 | Yes |
| =16 | Delaneys Creek State School | Delaneys Creek | 82 | Yes |
| =16 | North Lakes State College | North Lakes | 82 | Yes |
| =20 | Elimbah State School | Elimbah | 81 | Yes |
| =20 | Griffin State School | Griffin | 81 | Yes |
| =20 | Jinibara State School | Narangba | 81 | No |
| =20 | Narangba State School | Narangba | 81 | Yes |
North Lakes State College runs from Prep to Year 12 and is listed for its primary years. Mount Nebo State School has no 2025 score on Better Education, so it is not ranked.
How were the schools ranked?
We ranked every state school with primary years in the City of Moreton Bay by its 2025 State Overall Score on Better Education’s suburb ratings pages, and checked every score and enrolment plan on 6 November 2026.[2] The schools are the 51 on the Queensland Government’s 2026 list of state primary sites that the Department of Education’s records place in the council area, from Ferny Hills to Woodford and Bribie Island.[6][7]
Better Education’s State Overall Score rates a school’s English and maths test results from 60 to 100. On Better Education’s own conversion, a score of 90 puts a school in about the top 25% of Queensland, and the 81 shared in 20th place is about the top half.[8] It is a third-party measure, not a Queensland Government one.
A score measures results, not everything a school does, and results also reflect students’ backgrounds, as Better Education points out.[1] ACARA, which runs NAPLAN, has long discouraged league tables built from its data because they don’t show the full picture of a school.[9] Use this list to decide where to look, then read each school’s My School profile and visit.[10]
Your local state school is the one closest to your home, measured by the shortest, most direct road route to the school’s main entrance. Its catchment is the area where its core intake of students must live.[11] The Queensland Government Statistician’s Office draws catchments from distances along the road network, not from suburb boundaries, so one suburb can be split between schools.[4]
Check any home on EdMap, the Government’s catchment map, using its exact street address, not the suburb or the street next to it.[12]
Catchments are not fixed. The Statistician’s Office reviews them every year and updates them where needed, for example for new roads and subdivisions or a new school opening nearby. Students already enrolled at a school are not affected when a boundary moves.[4]
A School Enrolment Management Plan (EMP) is how a Queensland state school that is close to or at capacity restricts out-of-catchment enrolments, so places are kept for local students.[11] Every state school has a catchment, but it is enforced only under an EMP.[4] A school needs one once its utilisation reaches 80% and is trending upwards, and can drop it at 70% or lower and falling. Under an EMP, the principal cannot enrol out-of-catchment students unless there is spare capacity,[5] and their applications go on a waiting list in the order received.[11]
| Your situation | School with an EMP | School without an EMP |
|---|---|---|
| You live in the catchment | Your child is entitled to enrol | Your child is entitled to enrol |
| You live outside the catchment | A place only if there is spare capacity, from a waiting list | The catchment is not enforced; ask the school about places |
| An older child already attends | Siblings are entitled to enrol, even from outside the catchment | No catchment restriction applies |
| What to check before you buy | The school’s plan and the proof of address it asks for | Whether enrolments are rising towards the 80% trigger[5] |
Seventeen of the 23 top-20 schools run an EMP.[3] The sibling rule does not apply when the older child was enrolled in a Program of Excellence, and a few other groups, such as children of the school’s staff, can also enrol from outside the catchment.[5] Many Moreton Bay state high schools run EMPs too, among them Albany Creek, Pine Rivers, Narangba Valley, Redcliffe and Bribie Island, so check the secondary catchment for the same address.[3]
At an EMP school you need one primary document (a current lease agreement, a rates notice or an unconditional contract of sale) and one secondary document (a utility bill, such as electricity or gas, showing the same address and the parent’s name). Together they must show that the home in the catchment is your child’s principal place of residence, and the principal can ask for more evidence.[5]
Two details matter for buyers. A contract counts only once it is unconditional, so one still subject to finance or a building and pest inspection is not enough. And the student must be living in the catchment when the application is made, so settle and move in before you apply.[5]
- Ask the school when it takes applications for your child’s year level, and plan back from that date.
- Check the exact address on EdMap before you make an offer, and keep a copy of the result.
- Check the EMP list, and read the school’s plan for the documents it wants.
- Allow time for the contract to go unconditional, settlement, the move and a utility account in your name before that date.
- If time is tight, renting in the catchment while you search also works, because a current lease is accepted proof.
Narangba has three schools in the top 20; Ferny Hills, Albany Creek and North Lakes have two each; and 14 other suburbs have one. The five groups below are descriptions, not recommendations, and a nearby school is not the same as a home in its catchment.
The Hills District: Ferny Hills, Albany Creek and Eatons Hill
Five of the top 15 schools are in the established Hills District: Patricks Road and Ferny Hills state schools in Ferny Hills, Albany Hills and Albany Creek state schools in Albany Creek, and Eatons Hill State School. Patricks Road, Albany Hills and Eatons Hill run EMPs; Ferny Hills and Albany Creek state schools were not on the 1 October list. After selling in Albany Creek, one family we helped upsized to a four-bedroom home in Eatons Hill (read the Eatons Hill story).
Samford Valley and the hinterland
Samford State School in Samford Village is third overall, and the village and acreage suburbs to its north fill four more places: Mount Samson and Dayboro on 88, Mount Mee on 87 and Delaneys Creek on 82. Samford, Mount Samson and Mount Mee were not on the EMP list; Dayboro and Delaneys Creek were.
North Lakes, Mango Hill and Petrie
Mango Hill State School is fourth, and the suburbs around North Lakes add five more: Undurba in Murrumba Downs (85), Kurwongbah in Petrie (84), Bounty Boulevard and North Lakes State College in North Lakes (82), and Griffin (81). All six run EMPs, so here your address decides your school. One of our Mango Hill buyers, a mum of two, briefed us for a home close to schools and transport that the family could stay in until the children finish school (read the Mango Hill story).
Narangba, Burpengary and Elimbah
Narangba Valley (84) and Narangba and Jinibara state schools (81) put three Narangba schools in the top 20, and Burpengary Meadows (82) and Elimbah (81) join them. All but Jinibara run EMPs.
The coast: Scarborough and Bribie Island
Scarborough State School on the Redcliffe peninsula and Banksia Beach State School on Bribie Island share 10th place on 86, and both run EMPs.
Caboolture West: a new school planned at Lilywood
The Department of Education plans a new Prep to Year 6 state school on the corner of Hausmann Lane and Gibbings Court in Lilywood, part of the new Waraba area. Its opening year is under review and will follow enrolment growth.[13] A new school is one of the triggers for redrawing nearby catchments, so check EdMap again closer to the time.[4]
For prices and rents across the region, see our Moreton Bay property market guide and the full set of Moreton Bay suburb reports.
- Trusting the listing. “In the catchment” in an advertisement is a selling line, not proof; check the address on EdMap.[12]
- Buying on a boundary without a plan B. Catchments follow road distance and are reviewed every year, although children already enrolled are not affected.[4]
- Assuming a school without an EMP will stay open to everyone. A school must adopt a plan once utilisation reaches 80% and keeps rising, so ask the principal how enrolments are tracking.[5]
Moving for a school often means upsizing, buying before you sell, or both, which can mean a bigger loan. Talk to a mortgage broker before you shortlist homes, so pre-approval is in place when the right address comes up. These are the mortgage brokers we work with:
Finance support
Ryan Leahy, Finance Broker, Moreton Bay Finance Broker
Email ryan@mbfb.com.au · Phone 0468 396 086
moretonbayfinancebroker.com.au
Credit Representative Number 489568, authorised under Australian Credit Licence Number 389328
Finance support
Daniel Fynch, Mortgage Broker, Moreton Bay Finance Broker
Available evenings and weekends.
Phone 0478 706 468
Credit Representative Number 577009, authorised under Australian Credit Licence Number 389328
Finance support
Kyle Downey, Principal Broker, High Point Finance, Caboolture
Email kyle@highpointfinance.com.au · Phone 0493 010 111
highpointfinance.com.au
This section is general information, not credit advice; speak with a licensed credit professional about your own borrowing.
A buyer’s agent can build the school into the brief: check the catchment and EMP status of every shortlisted address before you inspect, negotiate the price and conditions, and work with your broker and solicitor or conveyancer so the contract dates suit the enrolment date. We bought a family home in The Gap for clients who wanted one of Brisbane’s top-performing state high school catchments (read The Gap story).
IPS Buyer’s Agents works only for buyers, and Moreton Bay is one of our core areas (see our Moreton Bay buyer’s agent service). Tim Allen has personally inspected and negotiated every one of the 128 properties IPS has bought since 2023. IPS is an REIQ Accredited Agency (see Tim’s REIQ member profile).
Patricks Road, Albany Hills and Samford lead Moreton Bay’s state primary schools on 2025 results. For 17 of the 23 schools in our top 20, your address decides whether your child gets a place, so check EdMap, check the EMP list, and time the contract and the move around the enrolment date.
This article is general information only, current at November 2026. It is not legal, financial or tax advice and does not consider your circumstances. School scores, enrolment management plans and catchments change, so confirm your child’s eligibility with the school, and check the rules for your purchase with your solicitor or conveyancer before you act.
Buying in Moreton Bay with a school in mind? Tell us the school and your budget, and we will shortlist homes in its catchment.
- Better Education — Top Public Primary Schools in Brisbane (2025 results)
- Better Education — QLD Suburb Ratings by Primary School Results (2025 school scores, by suburb)
- Department of Education — School enrolment management plans (schools with an EMP, last updated 1 October 2026)
- Queensland Government — State school catchments: frequently asked questions (Word document)
- Department of Education — School Enrolment Management Plans (School EMPs) procedure, version 7.5
- Queensland Government Open Data Portal — Queensland state schools—geographic information (Primary sites – 2026)
- Queensland Government Open Data Portal — State and non-state school details (local government area of each school)
- Better Education — Please explain the column State Overall Score in school rating
- ACARA — ACARA Update, December 2025 (open letter on school league tables)
- ACARA — My School
- Queensland Government — School catchment areas (last updated 17 June 2026)
- Queensland Government Statistician’s Office — EdMap, Queensland state school catchment maps
- Department of Education — Caboolture West new school (last updated 24 July 2026)
What is the best state primary school in Moreton Bay?
On Better Education’s 2025 State Overall Score, Patricks Road State School at Ferny Hills ranks first among Moreton Bay’s state primary schools with 95, ahead of Albany Hills State School at Albany Creek (94) and Samford State School (93). The score reflects English and maths test results only, so read each school’s My School profile and visit.
How do I check a school catchment in Moreton Bay?
Enter the exact street address into EdMap, the Queensland Government’s state school catchment map. Catchments follow road distance to each school’s main entrance, not suburb boundaries, and they are reviewed every year, so check the address itself and check again before you apply.
Can my child go to a state school outside our catchment in Queensland?
You can apply, but you may not get a place. At a school with an enrolment management plan, out-of-catchment students are enrolled only when there is spare capacity, from a waiting list in the order received, although siblings of current students are entitled to enrol. Schools without a plan do not enforce their catchment.
Does a contract of sale count as proof of address for school enrolment in Queensland?
Only an unconditional one. For schools with an enrolment management plan, the Department of Education accepts a current lease, a rates notice or an unconditional contract of sale, plus a utility bill in the parent’s name at the same address. The student must also be living in the catchment when you apply, so settle and move in first.
Do school catchment boundaries change in Queensland?
Yes. The Queensland Government Statistician’s Office reviews state school catchments every year, for example for new roads, subdivisions or a new school nearby. Students already enrolled are not affected. In Moreton Bay, a new Prep to Year 6 state school is planned at Lilywood in Caboolture West, with its opening year under review.
Which top Moreton Bay state primary schools have no enrolment management plan?
Of the 23 schools in our 2025 top 20, six were not on the Department of Education’s enrolment management plan list of 1 October 2026: Samford, Ferny Hills, Mount Samson, Mount Mee, Albany Creek and Jinibara state schools. Their catchments are not enforced, but a school must adopt a plan once utilisation reaches 80% and keeps rising, so ask the school how enrolments are tracking.