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Nudgee Beach School was opened on 1st April 1926 in the School of Arts building that was located on the Nudgee Beach Recreational Reserve. Cecelia Fleming was the first pupil enrolled, closely followed by her brothers John and Reg. About fifteen other children enrolled in the first year. Cecelia was the first pupil from the school to pass Scholarship.
Miss Fanning was the original teacher, from 1926 to 1932. She rode her horse "Robin" from Union Street, Nundah to Nudgee Beach each day.
The School of Arts building was one large room with no partitions. It was very cold in the winter months. Miss Fanning would take the pupils out onto the dry sand behind the sea wall in the warm sun for their lessons.
During the war (WWII) years, the School of Arts building was taken over by the Australian Army Searchlight Unit, staffed by A.W.A.S. soldiers. During this time, the school moved to a house owned by the Hough Family in O'Quinn Street. When the Army moved out of the School of Arts, the school returned.
In 1946 the Education Department bought four allotments of land at the corner of Nudgee Road and O'Quinn Street. Woolooman State School was moved to this site and from 1st January 1947 operated as Nudgee Beach State School.
As this site was too small and low-lying, the Education Department bought the block of land on the corner of Chaseley St and Nudgee Rd from the Trustees of St. Vincent's Orphanage (who owned much of Nudgee Beach). The Fleming family had leased this land for farming until 1943. The School was shifted and currently stands adjacent to where the Fleming homestead once stood.
Among the pupils that have passed through Nudgee Beach State School are some who have become well known; Len Shillam the sculptor; Larry Olsen, Sid Fisher and Brian Alvisio, jockeys; and John O'Keefe, a well known CSIRO Scientist. The school closed in 1988 when the number of pupils dropped to just four.
Due to its close proximity to the internationally recognised Boondall Wetlands, in 1989 the school was transformed to become the Nudgee Beach Environmental Education Centre. The Department of Education continues to use this facility to teach students information about the environment, particularly the value of coastal wetlands.
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