Ballina High School was established in 1956 in Burnett Street, Ballina; as the first high school in Ballina to be opened. In 2013, approximately 470 students were enrolled. In February 2015 it was announced that students in Year 7 to Year 12 at both Ballina High School and Southern Cross K–12 would combine to form the $40 million super school "Ballina Coast High School". New school and community facilities were built on the existing Ballina High School site and completed prior to the 2019 school year. Southern Cross will continue to cater for students in
Year K to
Year 6 and support units and will be the site for all distance education in Ballina. In 2017 demolition of Ballina High School began and the remaining students in
Year 8 to Year 12 were moved to the Southern Cross campus along with the first year to begin the formation of Ballina Coast High School. == Notable alumni ==