The focus of Malanda SHS is based on the purpose of:
"Within a supportive environment, all of our students developed the literacy and numeracy skills in the junior secondary school, which enabled them to successfully meet our Service Commitment within the senior secondary years."
This commitment aims to ensure that all graduates of Malanda SHS achieve one or more of the following to give them the best start in life after school:
- a Queensland Certificate of Education or a Queensland Certificate of Individual Achievement;
- an appropriate ATAR to enable university entrance, and/or
- a clear Vocational Education and Training (VET) pathway to employment, and/or
- the skills to achieve direct employment post school, and/or
- alternative pathways for some students with special needs.
Malanda SHS has been recognised as a 'place to excel' for a number of years. This reputation is founded in the consecutive recognition as the best state secondary school in the Far North Queensland region for OP 1-5 achievement. We consistently provide significant numbers of high results for the hard working and committed students within our school.
Our school is regularly commended on having strong core values, embedding life skills and positive pathways, having excellent individual student management, well planned student programs, feedback processes, and options and pathways for all students. Our school is described as a "high performing school based on student outcomes". In recognition of the school's overall performance it was granted Independent Public School status commencing in 2015.