Finding records related to schools and students

As you trek along on your family history discovery journey you may not think initially about school records as an information source. But in fact, school records can add a rich layer to your family history research, and in many cases provide essential information and clues. Among the many types of Queensland school records that you can immerse yourself in are: 

• school annuals and magazines,  
• school histories,  
• photographs,  
• newspapers, 
• student indexes and admission registers. 

School yearbooks and magazines 

School yearbooks include class photographs and student names during a given year. School magazines also provide a record of events and highlights, often including academic and sporting activities, and a snapshot of student life that year. Featured below is a small selection of write-ups and photographs from the Coorparoo State School Magazine for 1941. You can see named members of the coronation group, a king and queen crowning ceremony, school choir members, and the hoop drill team, made up of middle and upper school students. 

School histories  

State Library’s collection of school histories is vast and wide, with coverage of inner Brisbane schools and regional areas also. These resources detail the history and development of schools and include an abundance of photographic content. You may see these items in our catalogue referenced as centenaries, anniversaries or jubilees. Below is a selection from our collection of over two thousand school histories, which you might like to explore. 

Photos of students and schools 

You’ll find an exciting array of digitised class photographs in our online catalogue, One Search. Best of all, you’ll most often see student names listed in the catalogue record. Here’s an example: a 1933 class photo depicting teachers and students at Nikenbah State School. 

Here also, is an earlier photograph which shows students of Diddillibah Provisional School, from around 1891. Diddillibah Provisional School opened in 1885 and closed in 1962. The girls in this photograph are wearing dresses and a few of the boys are wearing sailor suits. The 3rd girl in the back row is Miss Brook, who later became Mrs. L. Willersdorf, once owner of the Bakery in Woombye. 

Here’s how you can search for your ancestor’s name in One Search and discover if there are any digitised photographs available of them in the school setting. 

• Type the person’s name into the search field, and also add the keyword school* 

• Change ‘All items’ to ‘Images’ in the resource type dropdown menu (under the search field) 

• Select ‘State Library digital collections’ from the scope (right of the search field) 

• Press enter or click the magnifier icon. 

Remember that not all photographs in our collection are digitized, so it’s always a good idea to check the physical photograph collections too. I found this lovely photograph of St Patrick’s College students,1941, and many like it, in Photographs of Townsville & District Schools. 

Newspapers 

The Trove digitised newspapers website is a must-search for school and student related information, containing all manner of useful information. You can find photos with listed names, articles about students receiving awards, students participating in sporting activities, music concerts and competitions, and more. A search for Teresa Dwyer, once student of All Hallows’ School, links to numerous articles identifying the various schools attended by Teresa, her musical accolades, her father’s name, and her family’s place of residence at the time.  

Indexes and registers 

Queensland school pupils index  

This is a fantastic source of student information. The index was created by the Queensland Family History Society from diverse sources: school admission registers, school histories covering jubilee celebrations, golden anniversaries, and centenaries. The index contains the names of more than 2,400,000 pupils from over 1200 schools, with records dating back to 1860. The information available in the index can include age at admission, birth date, parents’ names and occupations, religion, and address. 

The Queensland School Pupils Index can be accessed at State Library of Queensland via Microfiche, CD-Rom, and the FindMyPast database. Here we can see the QSPI record for Charles Mossop in FindMyPast, noting that he started at Coorparoo State School on March 1939.  

Queensland school admission registers 

Queensland State Archives (QSA) holds very useful school admission registers, which include records for all state schools from 1878 to 2001. These registers record the annual enrolment of children, and can include the following information: 

• date of admission 
• name and age 
• date of birth 
• parent's/guardian's name and occupation  
• religious denomination 
• date of leaving and date of return if applicable 

Many of these admission registers are digitised and accessible via QSA’s online catalogue, ArchiveSearch.  

Here is an example, from the Admission Register for Wellington Point State School, 11/09/1899 - 02/12/1929, showing student admissions in 1922. 

Enjoy exploring the many school records available and perhaps fill some gaps in the family history information you currently have. Always remember to crosscheck findings with other sources for accuracy.