Our Lady of the Way School

If you’re picturing a family-friendly suburb halfway between river flats and the city, you’ll feel right at home in Petrie. The neighbourhood skews family-oriented, with a median age of 38 and a household income that sits around middle Australia’s range, so it has the feel of steady, everyday suburban life rather than flash or hustle. Many households are couples with children and a healthy proportion of married families, and the workforce is a mix of white‑ and blue‑collar jobs you’d expect from outer northern Brisbane. Most residents were born in Australia, with England the most common overseas birthplace for those who weren’t, so while it’s comfortably local, there’s enough cultural familiarity to ease a move from abroad. Practical creature comforts—local grocery strips, a quiet hotel pub and takeaway options—mean you won’t have to drive far for weeknight staples.

Our Lady of the Way is a small Catholic primary that runs from Prep to Year 6, which makes it an obvious choice for families who want continuity through the primary years. The school really leans into creative learning: The Arts—music, dance and drama—feature strongly alongside Health and Physical Education, so kids get both stage time and plenty of play-based, active learning. There are school sport programs and arts electives that show up in the handbook, which help children discover interests outside core subjects. For parents who value a structured primary environment with a creative heartbeat, this combination works quietly well.

For working families, the practical details matter most: Our Lady of the Way hosts on-site Outside School Hours Care run through Petrie Community Outside School Care in partnership with Catholic Early EdCare and the parish. That means before-school care from around 6:30am, after-school care until about 6:00pm and vacation-care options all on the school grounds, which is the kind of wraparound support that lets parents keep a full workday without juggling a long drive. If you rely on a predictable routine, having before and after care physically at school is a simple win.

Living in Petrie means grocery runs are quick and familiar—Woolworths at Petrie Village and a local IGA cover the basics, fresh produce and midweek staples. For nights when you’d rather not cook, the suburb has dependable takeaways and family-friendly dining: fish-and-chip shops like French’s Forest, an Indian option in Curry Twist and the Petrie Hotel’s pub-style menu are all within easy reach. If your household relies on specialist ethnic groceries, you’ll likely make a short drive to nearby suburbs for a broader selection, and that’s something local parents tend to plan into their weekly shop.

If you’re considering extra academic support, Petrie has local tuition options such as NumberWorks’nWords for maths and English and nearby Kumon centres and private tutors in the surrounding suburbs. Those options make after-school learning easy to layer on top of school days, whether you want steady weekly practice or short-term boosts. For commuters, Petrie Station sits on the Caboolture and Redcliffe Peninsula lines, and the train to Brisbane Central typically takes around 30 to 35 minutes depending on the service—fast enough for city workers who want a suburban home base and manageable for school drop-offs and pickups on the same morning.

First, book a school tour and ask to see the extracurricular and handbook section so you can confirm the clubs, sports and arts programs your child might join. Second, contact Petrie Community Outside School Care to confirm enrolment steps, exact hours and current vacancy for before- and after-school care so your workday planning is nailed down. Third, trial the commute during the exact times you’ll travel—try a morning and an evening peak run and check train timetables to see how it fits your schedule, then decide if you need local tutoring or specialist groceries nearby.