2024: Central West’s most crowded schools revealed

Central West’s most crowded schools have been revealed. Take a look at the interactive below.

The schools with Central West NSW’s most crowded classrooms have been revealed. Generic image.

The schools with Central West NSW’s most crowded classrooms have been revealed.

An analysis of national data from the Australian Curriculum, Assessment and Reporting Authority has revealed the schools where teachers have the most students in their classes.

The figures show in 2023 in the Central West NSW region there were more students per teacher at St John’s Catholic Primary School than any other school.

According to the 2023 data – the most up to date that includes all state and private schools nationally – St John’s Catholic Primary School had 21.7 students for every teacher, the highest in the area.

It had 404 students enrolled and 18 full-time equivalent teachers.

The second highest student-teacher ratios were at St Mary’s Catholic Primary School where there was an average of 21 students for every teacher at the school. It had 411 students enrolled and 19 full-time equivalent teachers.

St Mary’s Catholic Primary School principal Luke Wilson told The Dubbo News he is “proud” the school is recognised to have a strong reputation in the local community.

Catholic schools have the highest national ratio for primary schools with a 14.1 ratio, followed by 13.5 for Government schools and 12 for independent schools. generic images

“As a result, there is a high demand for enrolments at our school. Explicit instruction is our primary pedagogy for teaching numeracy and literacy at our school, and it works effectively in large class settings,” he said.

“Learning support staff are used strategically across our school to assist teachers in providing necessary instruction differentiation.

“Individual student needs are recognised and targeted through specialised systems of support.

“Larger classes can also provide more diversity in terms of the students’ backgrounds, experiences, and perspectives, which is beneficial for both learning and social development.

Mr Wilson stressed that larger classes “do not diminish the quality of classroom instruction”.

“However, they do have an obvious impact on teacher workload,” he said.

“We have highly experienced and dedicated teaching staff who are regularly provided with instructional coaching to build teacher capacity.”

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

At The Assumption Catholic Primary School there were 19.9 students for every teacher, the Central West NSW region’s third highest.

It had 387 students enrolled and 19 full-time equivalent teachers.

According to ACARA the national average student teacher ratio in 2023 was 12.6 students for every teacher, a drop from the 13.3 ratio in 2021.

At a primary school level, it is sitting at 13.6 and in secondary it’s 11.8.

Catholic schools have the highest national ratio for primary schools with a 14.1 ratio, followed by 13.5 for Government schools and 12 for independent schools.

Catholic schools also have the highest national ratio for secondary schools with 12 students for every teacher, followed by 11.9 for state schools and 11.5 for independent schools.

Meanwhile, the Central West NSW region’s least crowded classroom was at Dubbo School of Distance Education where there was an average of 2.8 students for every teacher at the school.

It had 186 students enrolled and 67 full-time equivalent teachers.

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

Schools with the highest student to teacher ratio in Central West NSW:

• St John’s Catholic Primary School: 21.7 students per teacher

• St Mary’s Catholic Primary School: 21 students per teacher

• The Assumption Catholic Primary School: 19.9 students per teacher

• St Philomena’s Catholic Primary School: 19.6 students per teacher

• Rylstone Public School: 19.2 students per teacher

• St Laurence’s Catholic Primary School: 19 students per teacher

• O’Connell Public School: 18.8 students per teacher

• Canobolas Public School: 18.5 students per teacher

• Cathedral Catholic Primary School: 18.4 students per teacher

• Holy Family Catholic Primary School: 17.9 students per teacher