Search our database: Best regional SA schools for NAPLAN results
Which regional SA schools perform best in NAPLAN results? Some are larger schools, with 800 students – but others are much, much smaller. SEARCH THE LIST
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A BAROSSA Valley school well known for its strong primary production program has now emerged as a top scorer in literacy and numeracy tests.
Analysis of NAPLAN results shows Faith Lutheran College at Tanunda was among the top 10 regional schools in the state in both Year 3 and Year 9 last year.
St Joseph’s School at Clare had the best average results across all tests for both Year 3 and Year 5.
St Barbara’s Parish School at Roxby Downs recorded the best Year 7 scores, and Investigator College at Victor Harbor topped the Year 9 results.
Faith Lutheran principal Steven Wilksch said as well as focus on the basics of literacy and numeracy, giving students the opportunity to pursue their passions was one of the secrets to success for the school.
“We’re delighted with our NAPLAN results but from our perspective, they’re just one of a suite of tools to help us understand how our students are progressing,” he said.
“Our focus is on the holistic development of every child. It’s about doing all we can to allow students to explore their passions.”
The college, which has more than 800 students right up to Year 12, has three specialist agriculture teachers.
A long list of electives including robotics, creative writing, yoga, geocaching, archery and share trading, plus its strong NAPLAN results, means it attracts students from as far away as Riverton, Saddleworth, Eudunda, Kersbrook and Birdwood.
Another country school with top results is Mary MacKillop Memorial School at Penola. While the R-7 school only has 86 students, it is punching well above its weight, with high NAPLAN rankings particularly in Year 3 and Year 7.
Principal Nicole Coote said the school had made a concerted effort to lift its scores, especially in numeracy.
“Over time we’ve been performing reasonably well but last year’s results we were particularly pleased with,” she said.
“We saw that numeracy was an area we needed to work on and since then it’s been a real focus at the school.
“A particular focus is encouraging our students to have positive dispositions towards mathematics.”
Roseworthy Primary School ranked highly in Year 3 and Year 5.
Principal Matthew Saunders said: “We run regular literacy and numeracy events for our families, which gives them knowledge about our way of teaching and the programs we’re running.”
