A young college with deep local roots
Ripley Valley State Secondary College opened in 2020, but the story of this place reaches much further back. It is a story shaped by Country, generations of farming, the remarkable growth of the Ripley Valley and a college community now creating its own traditions.
Country and place
Ripley Valley State Secondary College respectfully acknowledges the Jagera, Yuggera and Ugarapul peoples of the Yugara/Yagara Language Group as the Traditional Owners of the lands and waters of the Ipswich region. We recognise their continuing connection to Country and pay our respects to Elders past and present.
Glen View and the Bayliss family
Long before the college was established, the surrounding land formed part of a working rural property.
The original five-room homestead was built in 1838 using hand-sawn timber sourced from the property and was topped with a thatched roof. During the early 1900s, the homestead also served the surrounding community as the local post office.
On 27 November 1953, Colin John “Col” Bayliss and Isabelle “Belle” Bayliss, née Tapsall, purchased the 400-acre property from the Guillemot family for £7,500.
Col and Belle arrived from Buaraba Creek with one draught horse, one stock horse and 50 dairy cows, which were milked by hand each day. They extended the homestead to seven rooms by enclosing the back verandah and replaced the original thatched roof with tin, creating a family home for their four children: Wayne John, Robert James, Glenn Colin and Marion Joy.
The family named the property
Glen View. “Glen” reflected the family’s connection with horses, while “View” described the outlook from the homestead across a large swamp near where Parkway Avenue now runs. The wetland supported an abundance of birdlife, including pelicans, black swans, egrets, ducks and darters.
Life at Glen View
The Bayliss children travelled on horseback to
Raceview State School and spent much of their free time riding horses, swimming and fishing in Bundamba Creek.
Glen View became a successful dairy farm, supplying cream to the Jacaranda Butter Factory in Ipswich. The family also grew potatoes and sweet potatoes for local markets and cultivated corn to feed their horses, chickens and pigs.
From the late 1950s, Col and Belle opened their family home as a polling booth during elections, providing an important service for people living throughout the local area.
After the family ceased dairying in the mid-1970s, the property was used to breed and sell cattle, primarily Brahman cattle. Watermelons and pumpkins were also grown and transported to markets as far away as Sydney and Melbourne.
Electricity and telephone services reached the homestead in the early 1980s. Before then, lighting was powered by a generator and the family’s refrigerator operated using kerosene.
From farming land to a growing community
Glen View remained with the Bayliss family until 2004, when the property was sold for future residential development.
On 2 November 2018, after standing for more than 180 years, the original homestead was demolished as the surrounding land began its transformation into the growing community now known as Providence.
Although the homestead is no longer standing, the Bayliss family’s connection to the land has not been forgotten.
Ripley Valley State Secondary College proudly acknowledges the Bayliss family through a dedicated outdoor social and heritage space within the college grounds. Featuring a visual historical plaque, the space allows students, families and visiting members of the public to learn more about the Bayliss family, Glen View and the earlier history of the land on which the college now stands. It provides a welcoming place to gather while creating a lasting connection between the property’s farming past and the college community of today.
A member of the Bayliss family looks across the former Glen View property towards Ripley Valley State Secondary College.
The beginning of our college
In September 2019, the name Ripley Valley State Secondary College was officially announced as construction progressed on the new $70 million secondary school.
On 28 January 2020, the college opened its doors to its first 134 students in Years 7 and 8. These foundation students, families and staff began establishing the culture, identity and traditions that continue to shape the college today.
In just six years, Ripley Valley State Secondary College has grown into a complete Years 7 to 12 college with 1,495 students enrolled in 2026. Enrolments are expected to surpass 2,000 students as the Ripley Valley continues to grow.
Built for a growing community
Located across more than 14 hectares, Ripley Valley State Secondary College is a purpose-built and architecturally designed campus created to grow alongside its community.
By 2025, the college was valued at more than $150 million, making it one of the most significant and comprehensively equipped secondary school campuses in the Ipswich region.
The campus has been designed to support more than 2,000 students when it reaches full capacity. Continued investment in facilities, technology, teaching resources and specialist learning environments ensures the college remains a contemporary, future-focused centre for education.
Students have access to advanced manufacturing, information technology and specialist learning spaces rarely available in conventional secondary school settings. The college also operates the only whole-college 1:1 student laptop program in the greater Ipswich region, ensuring every student has consistent access to the technology required for learning across the curriculum.
Environmental sustainability was incorporated into the architectural design of the campus. Significant solar power generation, energy-conscious design features and water-saving technologies help reduce the college’s environmental impact while supporting a more sustainable future.
Further stages of development have introduced additional classrooms, science laboratories, design and technology facilities, a simulated Health Hub and expanded spaces for contemporary teaching and learning.
A defining year in our history
In 2024, Ripley Valley State Secondary College reached two major milestones.
The college’s first Year 12 cohort graduated in November, becoming the first students to complete their full secondary school journey at Ripley Valley State Secondary College.
The college also officially opened its $22.9 million Performing Arts Centre. The two-storey facility includes a theatre, music and drama learning areas, practice rooms, multimedia facilities and specialist studios for acting and dance. It has become an important venue for students, families and the wider Ripley Valley community.
These milestones represented the college’s transition from a new school into a complete secondary college, while marking the beginning of traditions that will be carried forward by future generations.
Our history is still being written
As one of Queensland’s newer secondary colleges, Ripley Valley State Secondary College has the rare opportunity to create traditions that will endure for generations.
Every achievement, celebration, performance, sporting success and graduating class adds another chapter to our story. While the college continues to grow and evolve, we remain connected to the people, place and community that came before us.
From a five-room timber homestead to a leading contemporary secondary college, this site continues to reflect the remarkable growth and changing story of the Ripley Valley.
As we look towards the future, Ripley Valley State Secondary College remains committed to being the school of choice for families across the Ipswich region and to
Achieving excellence together.
Our college may be young, but our connection to this place is not.