Coolangatta State School opened on 10 February 1919, located on top of the Kirra headland, corner of Garrick Street and Powell Crescent, Coolangatta with spectacular views in all directions.
Before this, local students attended school at Tweed Public School. An outbreak of the Spanish flu in 1918 however closed the border between New South Wales and Queensland which meant that local students were unable to cross the border to go to school. Parents therefore lobbied to have a school established in Queensland.
Due to increasing enrolments, Coolangatta State School moved from Kirra hill to its present site, bordering Coolangatta Road, Miles Street, Stapylton Street and Appel Street. It was officially opened on 26 November 1977. Students at the time, recall carrying books and classroom resources from the hill to the new school facility. The old school bell also came to the site and remains in use today.
From the 1 January 1979 the original Coolangatta State School became the Coolangatta Special School providing services for students with intellectual and other disabilities until 2006 when it became the Currumbin Community Special School at a new purpose built site with modern facilities to care for students with special needs.
The original school site on Kirra hill is now the Kirra Hill Community and Cultural Centre. Considerable community action from 2004 by the 'Save Kirra Hill' group led the Queensland Government to preserve the site for public use in 2005. The group believed that the Coolangatta State School site had been an integral part of the community for nearly 90 years and believed that it should remain so. Custodianship of this site was handed over to the Gold Coast City Council in 2008 to create a facility for community purposes. The council, after public consultation, has spent 3 million dollars to restore and refurbish the historical buildings which was officially opened for community use on October 2011.
Coolangatta State School choir students proudly performed at the opening, carrying on the tradition of the school being an integral part of the community, from 1919 to today.
The 'Friends of Kirra Hill' committee have restored one of the rooms as a historical educational and community site, with photos and memorabilia.
