Welcome to the Cairns School of Distance Education, one of seven such schools in Queensland. Our school forms part of a network of distance education services provided by the Queensland Government’s Department of Education and Training.

We cater for  Prep to Year 12 students throughout the whole of Far North Queensland, including Cape York and the Torres Strait, providing a wide range of learning pathways which enable students to progress from school into academic, vocational or blended work and learning futures.

Cairns SDE is renowned for and is characterised by its personal and individualised service to students and families. This service is delivered by capable, experienced, enthusiastic and dedicated staff who work hard to provide the best possible educational experiences we can for our students.

Our school utilises the most contemporary of learning technologies wherever possible, in combination with tried and tested methods, to ensure that our students study current and relevant curriculum in ways which most effectively support their learning.

The school is structured into three sub-schools to allow us to focus on the specific needs of students at each stage of their development.

The Junior School (Prep to Year 5) focuses on providing an excellent foundation in literacy and numeracy. The Middle School (Years 6 to 9) provides additional support required for pre and early adolescent students, and our Senior School (Years 10 to 12 and Post Compulsory) focuses on giving students a range of pathways and vocational opportunities to prepare them for tertiary studies or employment options.

Cairns SDE is further characterised by an extraordinary diversity of family circumstances and lifestyles. This range includes students who live in rural or remote locations, students who are travelling in Australia or abroad, students who parents’ occupations require them to be itinerant, students with medical conditions and students whose parents choose to home school them. This diversity makes for a wonderfully eclectic school community whose common goal is the successful home schooling of their children.

Lastly, our school offers subjects to students in mainstream schools where that subject may not be available to them. We are particularly noted for the delivery of languages into schools.

Richard Huelin
Principal