St Peters College average ATAR outclass Prince Alfred College rivals

One of the fiercest rivalries in Adelaide just got more heated, with this year’s average uni entry scores revealing a big gap has opened up. See the list of top performers.

The fierce rivalry between Adelaide’s two elite boys colleges has intensified, with one surging eight points ahead academically after this week’s release of SACE scores.

St Peter’s College students achieved a median Australian Tertiary Admission Rank (ATAR) of 91.23 – the Hackney school’s highest marks in five years.

This compares to a median ATAR of 83.15 at PAC, which has conceded its rivals have “done better than us this year”.

Both schools are still awaiting results of students who undertook the International Baccalaureate diploma, an alternative to the SACE, which may affect the final median ATARs. Those results are due next month.

Saints and Princes, in Kent Town, share a 150-year-old sporting tradition of “intercol” clashes.

Parents of both schools are charged more than $27,500 for the privilege of having their sons graduate Year 12.

PAC captain Harry Tunkin with St Peter’s captain Morgan Ferres in August 2021. Picture: Michael Marschall

PAC principal Bradley Fenner said the IB results, due in January, would lift the average ATAR but not by enough to outrank St Peters.

“We have a great rivalry and Saints have done better than us this year – all credit to them, well done,” he said.

“We are going to try and work harder next year.”

Mr Fenner said his school recorded outstanding individual results that were not just measured by 90-plus scores “but also by students who achieved their best and some better than they had anticipated”.

Mr Fenner said ATAR was an important indicator of student and school performance, but good schools also focused on developing the all-round student.

“We have started to review how we have gone and will drill down into different subjects and forms of assessment to see how we can improve,” he said.

Prince Alfred College Headmaster Bradley Fenner with students Alex Glover, 17, and Tom Willson, 14. Picture: Noelle Bobrige

Mr Fenner has previously railed against the SACE unfairly favouring girls over boys.

Adelaide’s group of high-fee girls schools all achieved medians above 90.

Wilderness led the pack with 95.5, St Peter’s Girls 93.55, Walford Anglican 92.9 and Seymour College 92.2.

A St Peter’s College spokeswoman said: “We are delighted with the performance of our class of 2021 cohort across academia and co-curricular activities and their contributions to the wider community.”

The most recent publicly available NAPLAN results, from 2019, also show Saints outperforming PAC.

ATARS FROM SCHOOLS AROUND THE STATE

Wilderness School
Median ATAR 95.5
17pc of students achieved ATARs of 99 or above
52 pc achieved ATARs of 95 or above
67pc achieved ATARs of 90or above
Students earned a total of 76 SACE Merits

St Peter’s Girls School
Median ATAR 93.55
41pc of students achieved an ATAR of 95 or above
70pc of all grades were As

Walford Anglican
Median ATAR 92.9
32pc of students achieved an ATAR of 95 or above
More than 50pc of students achieved an ATAR of 90 or above
Five students achieved an ATAR of 99 or above

Seymour College
Median ATAR 92.2
34 pc of students achieved an ATAR of 95 or above
53pc of students achieved an ATAR of 90 or above
Students achieved a total of 42 SACE Merits

St Peter’s College
Median ATAR 91.23, the highest in the past five years
16 students (12pc) achieved an ATAR of 99 or above
43 students (32pc) achieved an ATAR of 95 or above
27 students earned a total of 36 SACE Merits

Pulteney Grammar
Median ATAR 87
9pc of students achieved an ATAR of 99 or above
25pc of students achieved an ATAR of 95 or above
16 students earned a total of 20 SACE Merits

Westminster School
Median ATAR 84.8
18pc of students achieved an ATAR 95 or above
33.7pcpc achieved an ATAR 90 or above

Prince Alfred College
Median ATAR 83.15
19pc of students achieved an ATAR of 95 or above
58pc of students achieved an ATAR of 80 or above
2 students achieved an ATAR above 99
12 students earned a total of 15 SACE Merits

Adelaide High
37 individual students achieved an ATAR of 95 or above
Students achieved a total of 37 SACE Merits

Blackfriars Priory School
14 students (18pc) achieved ATARS of 95 or above
24 students (31pc) achieved ATARs of 90 or above
Students earned a total of 12 SACE Merits

 Brighton Secondary
7 individual students achieved an ATAR 95 or above
31 individual students achieved an ATAR 90 or above
Students achieved a total of 13 SACE Merits

Cabra College
16 individual students achieved an ATAR of 90 or above
Students achieved a total of 12 SACE Merits

Christian Brothers College
8 students (7pc) achieved ATARs 95 or above
30 students (26pc) achieved ATARs 90 or above
Students earned a total of 14 SACE Merits

Concordia College
11pc of students achieved an ATAR of 95 or above
27pc of students achieved an ATAR of 90 or above
16 students achieved a total of 21 SACE Merits

Golden Grove High
6 individual students achieved an ATAR 95 or above
Students achieved a total of 4 SACE Merits

Immanuel College
Median ATAR 82.4
5 individual students achieved an ATAR of 99 or above
33 students earned a total of 44 SACE Merits

Gleeson College
9pc of students achieved an ATAR 95 or above
14.4pc of students achieved an ATAR 90 or above

Henley High
42 individual students achieved an ATAR 90 or above
Students achieved a total of 24 SACE Merits

Loreto College
14pc of students achieved an ATAR of 95 or above
52pc of all grades were As

Marryatville High
36 individual students achieved an ATAR 95 or above
54 individual students achieved an ATAR 90 or above
35 students earned a SACE Merit

Mitcham Girls High
23pc of students achieved an ATAR of 90 or above
Students achieved a total of 8 SACE Merits

Mercedes College
31pc of students achieved an ATAR of 90 or above
59 students earned A grades in at least three subjects

Pembroke School
12 students (7pc) achieved an ATAR of 99 or above
41 students (24pc) achieved an ATAR of 95 or above
73 students (43pc) achieved an ATAR of 90 or above
Students achieved a total of 64 SACE Merits

Roma Mitchell Secondary
16 individual students achieved an ATAR of 90 or above
Students achieved a total of 4 SACE Merits

Rostrevor College
13pc of students achieved an ATAR of 95 or above
26pc of students achieved an ATAR 90 or above
Students earned a total of 29 SACE Merits

Scotch College
3 students achieved an ATAR of 99 or above
32 students (26pc) achieved achieved an ATAR 95 or above
48 students (39pc) achieved an ATAR of 90 or above
Students earned a total of 39 SACE Merits

Seaview High
10 individual students achieved an ATAR 90 or above

 

 

 

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St Peter’s College in Hackney. Picture: Tricia Watkinson

In 20 NAPLAN categories, Saints were ahead in 17, including all tests for years 5 and 7 students, the federal MySchool site shows.

And its comparison of results with students of similar background from around the country shows Saints performing “above” expectations in seven categories across the year levels, “well above” in two and “below” in two.

PAC performed “below” expectations in nine categories.