Interactive list: Every northern Adelaide school’s enrolment number and student/teacher ratio

Some schools in Adelaide’s northern and northeastern suburbs have just nine students per teacher — in others the ratio is around 20. Find out what the figure is for your kids’ school.

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A state primary school, a Muslim college and an Aboriginal primary school have the most teachers per student in Adelaide’s northern and northeastern suburbs, new data shows.

An analysis of figures from the Australian Curriculum, Assessment and Reporting Authority (ACARA) has revealed the schools which have the lowest student to teacher ratio.

According to the data — the most up-to-date that includes all state and private schools nationally — Blair Athol North had nine students per teacher.

This is in comparison to other state schools such as Ridgehaven Primary which had 20.1 students per teacher and Golden Grove Primary which had 19.5 students per teacher.

The private school with the best student/teacher ratio in the region was the Muslim school Garden College, at Parafield Gardens.

It had 9.1 students per teacher compared to Catholic school St Pius X at Windsor Gardens, which had 19.1 students per teacher.

Nationally renowned Aboriginal school Kaurna Plains had 9.4 students per teacher at its Elizabeth R-12 campus.

According to ACARA, the national student-teacher ratio was 13.5 students for every teacher.

Across the country independent private schools had the lowest student/teacher ratios with 11.7 students to every teacher.

Government schools had an average of 13.8 students for every teacher while Catholic schools had an average of 14 students for every teacher.

Student/teacher ratios do not take into account teacher aides or non-teaching staff at schools, only the full-time equivalent teachers.

The Education Department said all public schools were funded to ensure agreed average class sizes at every year level were not exceeded.

In each school, average class sizes should not be greater than 26 students across Reception to Year 2, 30 from Year 3-7, 29 from Years 8-10 and 26 in Years 11-12.

Schools are also funded according to seven categories of advantage and disadvantage, with a particular focus on helping disadvantaged schools keep junior primary classes small.

We take a look at which schools across Adelaide’s northern and northeastern suburbs have the best teacher to student ratios.

A range of variables means student to teacher ratios do not necessarily equate directly to class size.

“Overall class sizes are influenced by how much funding a school receives based on its level of disadvantage, the programs on offer and how it deploys its resources,” a department spokesman said.

“For instance, schools with special units and special classes for disability will have lower ratios.

“Raw staff to student ratios don’t provide useful information on a school’s offering and we would recommend parents visit their local schools and talk to other families when deciding which school is right for them.”

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See the statewide data for enrolments and student-teacher ratios

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However, Catholic Education SA said the student/teacher ratio was a “reasonable raw measure” of class size.

“We aim to have class sizes that optimise student learning,” assistant director Michael Kenny said.

“Variables such as the needs and ages of the students, additional assistance available, and other relevant factors are all considered when forming classes.”

CESA said its enterprise agreement provided a “benchmark” for class sizes classes, so they “would normally not exceed” 25 students in Reception and Year 1, 29 for Years 2-6, 30 for Years 7-10 and 25 for Years 11-12.