Full list of Mackay, Whitsunday schools 2021 NAPLAN results revealed

Mackay and Whitsundays’ top academic schools have been named as every school’s NAPLAN results can be revealed. SEE THE FULL LISTS.

The Whitsunday Anglican School tops the table in NAPLAN results for all primary and secondary schools across Mackay and the Whitsundays.

The private school recorded a ‘primary total’ of 1006.4 and ‘secondary total’ of 1207.8.

The impressive results also place the school at the top-end of all schools across Queensland.

School principal Andrew Wheaton said the results were the outcome of a diverse curriculum paired with excellent teaching.

“When you offer a broad liberal-based curriculum with high quality teaching and grounded within literacy and numeracy, that’s what really helps our students to get those strong foundations moving forward,” he said.

“We are a non-selective school in a regional area, which makes these results even more impressive.”

(From left to right) Whitsunday Anglican School students Marley Smith, Ameera Akram and Lachlan Brown. The school performed well in this year's NAPLAN results, taking out first position across Mackay and the Whitsundays for both primary and secondary and placing at the top-end of schools statewide. Picture: Contributed

Mr Wheaton emphasised all students mattered for great NAPLAN results, not just those performing at the top-end.

“If we are not moving all students through, then you don’t get those results,” he said.

“It’s not just students performing at the top end, it’s every student.”

Within Mackay, St Francis Xavier Catholic comes in second place for primary schools, with a total of 931.4, and South Mackay’s Mercy College nabbed second place for secondary schools with 1110.

In the Whitsundays, Proserpine’s St Catherine’s Catholic College tops the list among primary schools with a total of 937.

For secondary schools, the Whitsunday Christian College in Cannonvale came in second place with a total of 1132.4.

St Catherine’s follows close behind with a total of 1122.8.

NAPLAN, or the National Assessment Program - Literacy and Numeracy, is an annual assessment for all students in years 3, 5, 7 and 9.

It measures development in literacy and numeracy skills.

Students are given scores for reading, writing, spelling, grammar and numeracy and these in turn generate the ‘total figure’.

St Catherine’s principal Luke Thomson expressed pride in his students and staff on the impressive results.

“We’re just extremely proud of our students and staff,” he said.

“We do have a real focus on literacy and numeracy and that care for the student and it has paid off.

“Last year, we did introduce a real focus on writing and writing improvements, which has possibly contributed to that.

“But ultimately, we’ve got students who are engaged in their learning, we’ve got teachers who are pushing our students to succeed and we’ve got a really good, supportive group of parents.”

St Catherine's Catholic College principal Luke Thomson. St Catherine's performed well in this year's NAPLAN.

Mr Thomson credits St Catherine’s impressive performance across both primary and secondary to the consistency of the school’s instruction and the “culture of learning” the school inculcates.

“The culture of learning, in the classroom it is set out by the staff who are in there, but the students need to be on board with that as well,” he said.

“And it also needs to be supported by the parents, so that’s a big focus of ours.”

Though private and religious schools top the list, Mackay’s public schools also performed well.

In Mackay, Mackay North State High School led secondary public education with a total of 1073.

Cannonvale State School led in primary with 913.6.