Kandanga State School rated Gympie’s best by Better Education

The region’s top performing schools for 2020 have been named following a study of academic outcomes carried out by an independent education website.

Kandanga State School and James Nash State High School have been rated the Gympie region’s best primary and secondary schools following an analysis of academic outcomes by an independent education group.

The Mary Valley primary school was given a score of 96 out of 100 by the online Better Education community platform, narrowly besting nearby Dagun State School and its rating of 94.

Better Education states the overall score is an index of performance, rather than a ranking, with schools assigned a number from 60 to 100.

The website was established in 2008 to provide a platform for education professionals across Australia.

James Nash topped the region’s secondary schools, including the region’s prestigious private colleges.

The school’s score of 85 made it the fifth best rated school across the region.

Cooloola Christian College primary school services, rated 89, and St Patrick’s Catholic Primary School, rated 86, rounded out the top five.

Kandanga State School was rated the region’s best school overall by online analysis site Better Education.

Kandanga principal Warrick Lucht said it was a “feel-good moment”.

“We will certainly take the accolade and celebrate the achievement with our entire school community, but honestly all of the small schools in the Gympie Region do a fantastic job,” Mr Lucht said.

“We have worked really hard over the past few years to develop community awareness of the importance of regular attendance.

“Our attendance figures for the past few years have been quite high and this reflects the importance that our community and families are putting on the education of their children.

James Nash State High School students Celeste Cotter, Daniel Dighton, and principal Jackson Dodd (middle), enjoyed being part of the region’s top ranked secondary school for 2020.

“Being that little bit smaller allows us the luxury of smaller class sizes, which is always an advantage. On top of this we have a stable base of teachers and support staff that are genuinely heavily invested in the local community.”

James Nash principal Jackson Dodd said the school had worked “tirelessly” over the past three years to excel.

“It is a marvellous feeling to know that our community feels as highly about our school as those of us who study or work there,” Mr Dodd said.

“Although the so-called ‘league tables’ often do not summarise the diversity of education that schools provide, we welcome this community recognition as a result of the hard work of our staff, coupled with the excellent behaviour and effort of our students.

“We are not a school working on a top-down, broad brush model – we work on the premise that precise changes by teachers delivers the improvement in learning our students deserve.”

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