Playford College

Located in Elizabeth, South Australia, Playford College is a young Islamic Independent co-educational school with a focus on Muslim Australians of the Jaafari School of Thoughts but welcomes all students. Playford College started from humble beginnings, opening our doors in February 2017 with 78 students from 26 different schools. It has since grown to over 670 students from Foundation to Year 12.

Before Playford College, there were only two schools catering for the Jaafari School of Thoughts in Australia, both located in Sydney. Islamic education is very important to families from this School of Thoughts and consequently, many were relocating from interstate to access this environment. Utilising the support from one of the Sydney schools and the dedicated planning and directing of local leaders, the result was the procurement of an old vacant government school site in the northern part of Adelaide. Muslims are taught to love their country, and our Sheikh was quick to highlight that their country in now Australia, and to love their new home. So, with this advice, the school was named in honour of its local council area, the City of Playford, and thus Playford College was born.

Many volunteers from the community who shared the vision offered their skills to w**d, plant, build, refurbish and paint to make the school ready for welcoming students and as the population grew rapidly, other learning spaces had to be created to house this increase. As with every new school, finances were tight but the College continued to grow and prosper. Under the guidance of the inaugural Directors of the Board led by Dr. Abdul-razak Musa, the wisdom of religious leader Sheikh Idress Ul Hassan and the enthusiasm of foundation Principal, Rainer Mayer, what was once an idea was quickly transformed into a reality.

The identity of the new College was a sense of a family with an emphasis on “Respect for God, for self, for others and for property”. Students felt safe and they felt like they belonged.

In choosing the motto of ‘Wisdom through Faith and Knowledge’ and the new uniform, the College’s identity became more refined and cemented into the lives of the staff and students.

With registration approved to Year 12, the College created a successful Middle School in 2019 under the leadership of the current Principal, Chris Riemann and Deputy Principal, Racha Makki. 2022 saw the commencement of Year 12 students who completed their schooling with impressive results, including every student gaining their SACE. In 2024, Playford College achieved record academic success, with four students attaining an ATAR of 99.95 and another achieving 97.20, highlighting the continued excellence of our Year 12 program.

Playford College is a good story that started from humble beginnings and an optimistic vision. The whole community has a strong belief that the College will continue to prosper as the development of the school continues and the student population grows. We look forward to turning more visions into realities.