40.8% —
Lower than 61% of suburb / locality areas.
- 2016: 27.4%
- 2021: 40.8%
Share of people whose highest year of school is Year 12 or equivalent.
Columbia · Suburb / Locality
Education & Qualifications in Columbia
How far people went at school, the qualifications they hold and what they studied.
Far fewer people in Columbia have finished high school compared to the rest of the country. Only 40.8% of residents have completed Year 12, which is far below the national figure of 58.8%. This gap extends to higher education, where a small minority of adults hold university degrees.
Schooling
Highest year of school completed.
Year 12 completion is far below the Queensland rate, with 16 percentage points less of the population finishing school. Many residents stopped their schooling earlier, with 35.2% finishing at Year 10.
Highest year of school
View on map →In Columbia, the largest group is Year 12 at 44%, followed by Year 10 (38%) and Year 11 (9%).
Qualifications
Post-school qualifications and degrees.
Only 10.4% of adults have a bachelor degree or higher, which is far below the national figure. Instead, a majority of qualified residents hold a Certificate III or IV.
10.4% —
Lower than 69% of suburb / locality areas.
- 2016: 4.0%
- 2021: 10.4%
Share of people aged 15+ whose highest qualification is a bachelor degree or above (incl. graduate and postgraduate).
Highest qualification level
View on map →In Columbia, Certificate III / IV is the majority at 74%; Bachelor degree is next at 26%.
Field of study
What people studied.
Among those with qualifications, the most common fields are Engineering and related subjects at 23.8%, followed by Society and Culture at 16.7%.
Schools
Schools in the area and how many children they serve (ACARA).
Columbia has seven schools within 3km, which is more than about 79% of similar areas. However, the average school advantage score is 916, which is much lower than most areas.
7
Higher than 75% of suburb / locality areas.
Schools serving the area — within 3 km of small areas, or inside larger ones. A measure of access (catchments overlap, so don't add it across areas).
282
Lower than 54% of suburb / locality areas.
Average enrolment per school in the area.
916
Lower than 86% of suburb / locality areas.
Enrolment-weighted average ICSEA — an index of socio-educational advantage, centred near 1000 (context, not a quality ranking).
Schools serving Columbia
7 schools — 1,974 students, average ICSEA 916.
By sector: Government 4 · Independent 2 · Catholic 1
By type: Primary 3 · Combined 2 · Secondary 2
| All Souls St Gabriels School, Charters Towers | Independent | Combined | 1.8 km | 431 | 952 |
| Columba Catholic College, Charters Towers | Catholic | Secondary | 1.9 km | 425 | 926 |
| Richmond Hill State School, Richmond Hill | Government | Primary | 2.5 km | 191 | 854 |
| Blackheath and Thornburgh College, Charters Towers | Independent | Combined | 3.8 km | 379 | 965 |
| Charters Towers Central State School, Charters Towers City | Government | Primary | 4.2 km | 113 | 859 |
| Charters Towers State High School, Charters Towers City | Government | Secondary | 4.4 km | 303 | 879 |
| Millchester State School, Millchester | Government | Primary | 4.7 km | 132 | 855 |
Sources
More for Columbia
Cite this page
Australian Bureau of Statistics. (2021). Education & Qualifications in Columbia [Census of Population and Housing]. CensusAtlas, used under CC BY 4.0. https://censusatlas.au/region/sal/SAL30654/columbia/topic/education