General News
6 November, 2026
Mareeba High moves in new direction
MAREEBA State High School is looking to the future with planned upgrades, a potential new logo, and working to build its reputation in the community.
The new direction follows the appointment of Regan Gant as school principal mid-last year, and the arrival of three new deputy principals and new heads of departments.
The plans include an upgrade of the administration blocks, a full refurbishment of the two-storey C Block building, a new adventure shed on the oval and an extended horticultural area. A hall extension has already been completed.
“We’re working very hard as a school, and we’ve got lots of development happening. We’ve been advocating really strongly with the Department of Education around getting those projects underway,” Mr Gant said.
The school also bid farewell to its old demountable classrooms over the school holidays, which had been on grounds for half a century.
“Part of it is we’ve had a slight decline in enrolments, and those buildings were very old, so they needed to be removed. The plan, long term, is to get a new building,” the principal said.
“We have enough space within the school to fit all of the classrooms in, but it makes it tight. However, as our enrolments increase, we’ll be able to put forward the case for a new building.”
The H Block demountable had been temporary since 1972 (54 years), while the other three, K, L and M blocks, had been temporary since ’78 (48 years).
The developments are a positive step forward for the school, which has not been viewed in the best of light over recent years due to lockdowns and student fights.
Mr Gant was appointed to the school in mid-2025 after the Department of Education advertised “at a high level to try and get some experience into the school”.
“When I arrived, I arrived with three new deputy principals and some new heads of departments. So, a number of roles and lots of changes. Probably the first six months were just bringing everybody together to get on the same page,” Mr Gant said.
He said the school regularly communicated with students about being responsible for the reputation of their school.
“They’re very aware that things have occurred,” he said.
“We’ve had some unsavoury incidents that don’t put us in a good light. But what I’ve noticed from being here, the teachers, they all want to do the best job that they can do.
“And for our young people, some of them come from pretty disadvantaged areas, and that doesn’t excuse bad behaviour, but coming to school is a safe spot, and sometimes, leaving school can be a real challenge for them.”
Mr Gant said while the school was working hard to change its reputation, bad news often travelled faster than good news.
“This year we’ve had a couple of lockdowns and people remember those things and forget that we’ve had all of these other successes like kids going off and winning state titles and all sorts of other things,” he said.
“Have we got work to do? Yeah, we do. But I’ve never been at a school where you’ve actually got nothing more to do. There’s always something.”
A potential rebrand of the school logo will not be decided until the end of the school year.
