NAPLAN results inner city Sydney: How every school performed
We have crunched five years of results to bring you the ultimate list of the best and worst schools from across the Inner City Sydney region according to NAPLAN results.
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An independent analysis of five years of NAPLAN results have revealed the schools that performed the best in Inner City Sydney region.
The independent analysis, which compiled data from the Federal Government’s MySchool website, looked at scores from the year 5 and year 9 tests between 2014 and 2018.
Topping the class over that five year period for year 5 was Sydney Grammar School, in Darlinghurst.
With an average score of 3113.6 over the five years, the school was not only the top scorer in the region, but also across NSW.
The total score was calculated by adding up the results for reading, writing, spelling, grammar and numeracy.
The total average was then calculated from across the five years.
In comparison to Sydney Grammar’s 3113.6, the average year 5 score across the state was 2436.24 with the lowest performing school Moree East Public School with 1816.
The average for the Inner City Sydney region was 2516.82 with the lowest performing school being Gardeners Road Public School with 2314.6.
True to its name, Sydney Grammar’s strongest testing area for year five was in grammar with an average score of 662.4, followed by reading and numeracy.
The biggest improvement across the five years for the school was in reading.
Woollahra Public School, in Woollahra, had the second best year 5 performance in the region, with an average of 2957.2.
The school’s best performance was in grammar, followed by numeracy and reading.
Number three on the list was another public school, Balmain Public School, with an average score or 2891.2.
Number 4 was Summer Hill Public School with 2882.4 while SCEGGS Darlinghurst was fifth with 2871.2.
There was a slightly different look to the top five when it came to the year 9 results.
Top of the class was Sydney Girls High School, in Surry Hills, with an average score of 3598.4.
The school was just pipped to the state title by James Ruse Agricultural High School, in Carlingford (3719.6).
Sydney Girls best year 9 testing area was numeracy with an average score of 772.8, followed by spelling and grammar.
Sydney Grammar School also performed well in the year 9 results, taking second spot in the region’s ranking with 3553.4
Sydney Boys High School, at Moore Park, was third with 3492.6 while Fort Street High School, Petersham, was fourth with 3490.2
The Conservatorium High School, near the Botanical Gardens, was fifth, with 3423.8.
The average score across the state for year nine was 2873.04 with the lowest performing school Walgett Community College - High School with an average of 2263.
The average score across Inner City Sydney region was 2873.83 with the lowest performing school Central Sydney Intensive English High School with an average of 2488.2
One of the few non-selective schools making the top ten in year 5 and year 9 was Meriden, an Anglican school for girls in Strathfield, which ranked sixth in year 5 and eighth in year 9 for the region.
Meriden’s year 5 students performed the best in grammar, followed by spelling and numeracy.
The year 9’s strongest NAPLAN performance was in numeracy, with average scores steadily increasing since 2016.
The principal of Meriden, Dr Greenhalgh, said the school’s outstanding teaching “pays big dividends as the girls get older”.
“I think it’s interesting that our results are better in year five than in year three, and better in year nine than they are in year seven,” Dr Greenhalgh said.
“I think it’s because that’s when the girls have been with us for extra time. The girls are quite young in year three but we are starting their educational journey.
“By the time they are in year five [and year nine] we are seeing the fruit of all the excellent teaching they have had.”
Dr Greenhalgh emphasised the importance of “marvellous classroom reachers” as well as a range of “specialist experts”.
Meriden has teaching specialists in literacy, mathematics and problem solving, information technology and languages.
However, Dr Greenhalgh said NAPLAN was a “non-event” at Meriden, as the school has opted to focus on “innovation and creativity” rather than focusing on NAPLAN results.
“I think the big message is that we don’t care. It’s a non issue. What we are totally focusing on is providing a rigorous and deep education for these girls, and consequently they happen to do well [in NAPLAN],” she said.
“Our new strategic plan released earlier this year is really focused on leadership.
“We want them to be giving the speeches as politicians and parliamentarians and leaders in the community.”
While the NAPLAN test doesn’t dictate the style of teaching at Meriden, it is something the students still look forward to.
“The older girls see it as a challenge and they love improving on their scores from previous years,” Dr Greenhalgh said.
Special schools, schools with fewer than 20 students enrolled in either year, and schools that did not report any results for NAPLAN subjects in either year were excluded from the analysis.
Inner City Sydney’s top 10 Year 5 NAPLAN schools between 2014 and 2018 were:
1. Sydney Grammar School: 3113.6
2. Woollahra Public School: 2957.2
3. Balmain Public School: 2891.2
4. Summer Hill Public School: 2882.4
5. SCEGGS Darlinghurst: 2871.2
6. Meriden School: 2856.0
7. Ascham School: 2853.8
8. Sydney Distance Education Primary School: 2829.2
9. Claremont College: 2817.6
10. St Francis of Assisi Regional Catholic Primary School: 2813.6
Inner City Sydney’s top 10 Year 9 NAPLAN schools between 2014 and 2018 were:
1. Sydney Girls High School: 3598.4
2. Sydney Grammar School: 3553.4
3. Sydney Boys High School: 3492.6
4. Fort Street High School: 3490.2
5. Conservatorium High School: 3423.8
6. Ascham School: 3255.2
7. SCEGGS Darlinghurst: 3243.4
8. Meriden School: 3242.2
9. MLC School: 3239.6
10. Presbyterian Ladies’ College Sydney: 3235.4