Top 19 public high schools in Cairns (2025)
Government schools offering secondary years. Ranked by the Success Index from official ACARA data; 19 schools shown out of all eligible public high schools in Cairns.
- Primary Schools
- High Schools
- Public Schools
- Private Schools
- Catholic Schools
- Independent Schools
- Public Primary Schools
- Private Primary Schools
- Private High Schools
- Girls' Schools
- Boys' Schools
- K-12 Schools
- VCE Schools by Median Study Score
- Schools with Top ATAR Students (WA)
- VCE Schools by Study Scores of 40+
- Fastest-Growing Schools
- Schools With the Best Student–Teacher Ratio
- Largest Schools
- 160Malanda State High SchoolMalanda · Government SecondaryICSEA 994 · 538 students
- 255Cairns School of Distance EducationManunda · Government CombinedICSEA 1024 · 3,692 students
- 351Cairns State High SchoolCairns North · Government SecondaryICSEA 1019 · 1,636 students
- 444Tropical North Learning Academy - Smithfield State High SchoolSmithfield · Government SecondaryICSEA 983 · 1,135 students
- 540Redlynch State CollegeRedlynch · Government CombinedICSEA 1007 · 1,834 students
- 635Atherton State High SchoolAtherton · Government SecondaryICSEA 963 · 781 students
- 734Herberton State SchoolMoomin · Government CombinedICSEA 930 · 154 students
- 830Babinda State SchoolBabinda · Government CombinedICSEA 931 · 280 students
- 930Ravenshoe State SchoolRavenshoe · Government CombinedICSEA 848 · 351 students
- 1028Innisfail State CollegeInnisfail Estate · Government CombinedICSEA 889 · 951 students
- 1127Mossman State High SchoolMossman · Government SecondaryICSEA 938 · 553 students
- 1227Tully State High SchoolTully · Government SecondaryICSEA 925 · 721 students
- 1326Trinity Bay State High SchoolManunda · Government SecondaryICSEA 908 · 1,784 students
- 1425Bentley Park CollegeBentley Park · Government CombinedICSEA 869 · 1,771 students
- 1524Kuranda District State CollegeKuranda · Government CombinedICSEA 862 · 285 students
- 1624Yarrabah State SchoolYarrabah · Government CombinedICSEA 688 · 405 students
- 1715Mareeba State High SchoolMareeba · Government SecondaryICSEA 886 · 721 students
- 1814Woree State High SchoolWoree · Government SecondaryICSEA 854 · 750 students
- 1912Gordonvale State High SchoolGordonvale · Government SecondaryICSEA 883 · 623 students
| # | School | Sector | Success Index | ICSEA | Students | Students : teacher |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Malanda State High School Malanda · Secondary · 7-12 | Government | 60.1 Top 50% | 994 | 538 | 10.4 |
| 2 | Cairns School of Distance Education Manunda · Combined · Prep-12 | Government | 54.5 Top 50% | 1024 | 3,692 | 10.6 |
| 3 | Cairns State High School Cairns North · Secondary · 7-12 | Government | 51.1 Top 50% | 1019 | 1,636 | 13.2 |
| 4 | Tropical North Learning Academy - Smithfield State High School Smithfield · Secondary · 7-12 | Government | 44.3 Lower 50% | 983 | 1,135 | 11.4 |
| 5 | Redlynch State College Redlynch · Combined · Prep-12 | Government | 40.1 Lower 50% | 1007 | 1,834 | 13.5 |
| 6 | Atherton State High School Atherton · Secondary · 7-12 | Government | 34.8 Lower 50% | 963 | 781 | 12.0 |
| 7 | Herberton State School Moomin · Combined · Prep-10 | Government | 33.9 Lower 50% | 930 | 154 | 9.7 |
| 8 | Babinda State School Babinda · Combined · Prep-12 | Government | 30.4 Lower 50% | 931 | 280 | 11.7 |
| 9 | Ravenshoe State School Ravenshoe · Combined · Prep-12 | Government | 30.1 Lower 50% | 848 | 351 | 9.9 |
| 10 | Innisfail State College Innisfail Estate · Combined · Prep-12 | Government | 27.9 Lower 50% | 889 | 951 | 10.6 |
| 11 | Mossman State High School Mossman · Secondary · 7-12 | Government | 26.6 Lower 50% | 938 | 553 | 11.2 |
| 12 | Tully State High School Tully · Secondary · 7-12 | Government | 26.6 Lower 50% | 925 | 721 | 11.6 |
| 13 | Trinity Bay State High School Manunda · Secondary · 7-12 | Government | 25.7 Lower 50% | 908 | 1,784 | 12.4 |
| 14 | Bentley Park College Bentley Park · Combined · Prep-12 | Government | 24.6 Lower 50% | 869 | 1,771 | 13.1 |
| 15 | Kuranda District State College Kuranda · Combined · Prep-12 | Government | 23.6 Lower 50% | 862 | 285 | 10.4 |
| 16 | Yarrabah State School Yarrabah · Combined · Prep-10 | Government | 23.5 Lower 50% | 688 | 405 | 9.2 |
| 17 | Mareeba State High School Mareeba · Secondary · 7-12 | Government | 15.0 Lower 50% | 886 | 721 | 12.1 |
| 18 | Woree State High School Woree · Secondary · 7-12 | Government | 14.0 Lower 50% | 854 | 750 | 11.0 |
| 19 | Gordonvale State High School Gordonvale · Secondary · 7-12 | Government | 12.3 Lower 50% | 883 | 623 | 12.2 |
There are 19 public high schools in Cairns eligible for this list; the top 19 are shown. Malanda State High School in Malanda is ranked first with a Success Index of 60.1 and an ICSEA of 994. 19 of the top 19 are government schools and 0 are Catholic or independent; the median ICSEA across the list is 925.
The top 10 public high schools in Cairns for 2025 are: 1. Malanda State High School (Malanda); 2. Cairns School of Distance Education (Manunda); 3. Cairns State High School (Cairns North); 4. Tropical North Learning Academy - Smithfield State High School (Smithfield); 5. Redlynch State College (Redlynch); 6. Atherton State High School (Atherton); 7. Herberton State School (Moomin); 8. Babinda State School (Babinda); 9. Ravenshoe State School (Ravenshoe); 10. Innisfail State College (Innisfail Estate).
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Frequently asked questions
What is the best public secondary school in Cairns?
Malanda State High School in Malanda ranks first among public high schools in Cairns with a Success Index of 60.1 out of 100 and an ICSEA of 994.
How are public high schools in Cairns ranked?
Each school's Success Index combines five factors from ACARA's 2025 school profile data: ICSEA (50%), share of students in the top socio-educational quarter (15%), students per teacher (15%), five-year enrolment growth (10%) and five-year ICSEA trend (10%). Each factor is a percentile against schools of the same type nationally. Schools with fewer than 80 students are excluded.
How many public schools are in the top 100 public high schools in Cairns?
19 of the top 19 public high schools in Cairns are government schools; 0 are Catholic or independent.
Do these rankings include NAPLAN or ATAR results?
Not yet. ACARA does not publish school-level NAPLAN results in bulk, and ATAR results are released by state authorities in different formats. The Success Index uses the measures ACARA publishes for every school so that all schools are compared on identical data. Where a school publishes its own results we link to its website.