History
Chanel College was established in 1966 to serve the youth of Gladstone district for their secondary schooling. The opening year saw an enrolment of twenty-three boys and girls in Year 8. They were accommodated on the site of the Star of the Sea Church and School at the corner of Goondoon and Herbert Streets.
The following year, 1967, saw the College move to its present site. Stella Maris College was established to become the girls’ section of the Catholic High School under the guidance of the Sisters of Mercy. The classes were co-educational.
With the arrival of the first Marist Brothers in 1968, Chanel College was founded as the boys’ section of the Catholic High School. As time went on, both schools amalgamated under the name of Gladstone Catholic High School. In 1985, Saint Peter Chanel was officially adopted as Patron of the College which then took the name of Chanel College.
In 1974 and 1978 additional classrooms, specialist rooms and staff amenities were built. By 1978, the number of students enrolled had reached three hundred and five. The Senior College was established in 1982 with forty-one students in this first year. Enrolments have continued to grow each year since, with the college population reaching over six hundred in 1990. In 1988, extra classrooms and a new library were built and 1992 saw the construction of a new Administration Block. The old Administration Block was converted to a Business Education Computer Centre in 1993. The Marist Brothers withdrew from the College at the end of 1993. 1997 saw the completion of two additional facilities – the new Manual Arts Centre and the Marian Centre. The Marian Centre is used for physical education classes, College assemblies and some masses. In recent years the computer facilities have been expanded and updated.
In 2014, members of the College community were invited to participate in a Charrette – a formal process of consultation about the future development of the College. The outcome of this process saw the building of a new Administration Centre and refurbishing of specialist facilities including an Arts Precinct, Student Services & Inclusive Curriculum Precincts and a Performing Arts Centre. These facilities were officially blessed in 2017.
