A new private school on Queensland’s Gold Coast plans to divide its youngest pupils between morning and afternoon classes, creating a double-shift model intended to offer families greater flexibility.
Village Yard Christian School in Mudgeeraba is due to open in 2027, initially catering for children from Prep to Year 2. Families will be able to nominate either a 7.30am-to-noon session or an 11am-to-3.30pm session.
The school is being developed as a low-fee independent Christian school for pupils from Prep to Year 8. It is an initiative of Hillcrest Christian College and Queensland Baptists, and is planned for a site on Mudgeeraba Road that already operates as a Christian early-learning centre.
How the double-shift school day will work
Village Yard says both groups will receive the full Australian Curriculum during their four-and-a-half-hour school day. The two cohorts will overlap for about an hour, allowing pupils to take part in collaborative and community-focused activities.
The school says using the same classrooms and facilities for two groups of children will help keep fees down. Its wider educational model is intended to combine academic learning with outdoor studies, community involvement and programmes linked to the natural environment, including farm-to-table activities.
The proposed arrangement differs from a staggered timetable in which different age groups attend at different times. At Village Yard, children in the same year levels will be split between the two daily sessions.
A similar approach is already used at St Andrew’s Anglican College on the Sunshine Coast, although its system is structured around age groups. Junior students attend from 10.30am to 4pm, while senior students start at 7.30am and finish at 1pm.
That model has been promoted as a way of giving older pupils more time for part-time work and study, while reducing congestion around the school at peak times.
For families at Village Yard, however, the early session could finish several hours before the end of the working day. Parents with children in different year groups may also face separate drop-off and collection times, while demand for one shift could raise questions about how much choice families will ultimately have.
The school is inviting expressions of interest for its planned Prep-to-Year 8 intake. Its stated aim is to provide an accessible Christian education centred on care, leadership, learning, connection and service.
