Better Education analysis reveals NSW’s top 50 primary schools

Several government primary schools have outperformed elite private schools in the latest NSW rankings. See the full list.

The best primary schools in NSW have been named - and low-cost government schools make up exactly half of the top 50.

The Better Education analysis of 2022 academic outcomes also reveals that Christian – and especially Catholic schools - also dominate the lists relative to their size.

Schools in Sydney’s north and northwest suburbs performed well compared to other suburbs - while some government primary schools, such as Beecroft Public, ranked seven, jumping ahead of expensive private schools like Knox Grammar, ranked nine.

The number one spot and a perfect score of 100 was awarded to the elite Sydney Grammar School, which has Preparatory Schools at both St Ives and Edgecliff with fees for kindergarten starting at $27,195 a year.

But five state primary schools – including number two ranked school Matthew Pearce Public School at Baulkham Hills and number five ranked St Ives North Public School also made the top ten.

They elbowed out elite private schools like Knox, Ascham, Kambala, Shore and Cranbrook.

The website Better Education is run independently and says it provides “informative and comparative school results, including school rankings or ratings and lists of best performing schools, to parents wanting to make choices about schooling for their children”.

Their academic performance score runs from 100 to 60, which they say is an index of performance, not ranking.

Better Education says schools with the same score are measured on academic results, to provide overall placings.

Many of the primary schools ranked highly in the listings were clustered around Sydney’s north shore and northwestern suburbs.

They also use test results with a high percentage participation from students, including English and maths.

The Christian schools that performed well include a little known school in Ryde, NorthCross Christian School, a ministry of Ryde Baptist Church, which came third and achieved a score of 100, despite a small enrolment of 380 pupils.

The school says it provides an “outstanding education” based “firmly on the integration of faith in all subject areas”.

Analysis of the top 50 primary schools shows primary schools with a Christian foundation made up 40 per cent, accounting for 20 spots.

Hornsby North Public School students performed very well, coming in at 8th in the rankings, edging out Knox Grammar at nine. Picture: Gaye Gerard

The Roman Catholic boys school St Aloysius College, located on the harbour foreshore of Kirribilli, which has fees of around $19,704 for boys from Years 3 to Year 6, came sixth and had a score of 100.

Its ethos includes the “Jesuit principle of cura personalis” which “ensures every boy is known and celebrated for his unique talents, his spirituality and his academic growth”.

Other outstanding public schools included Beecroft Public listed at seven, Hornsby North Public School listed at eight and Woollahra Public coming in at ten.

In the past Northcross Christian School, which performed well and came third, had a program for its students called Move to Learn which gets students moving in order to warm up their brains. Support teacher Prue Duignan with students.

Multi-faith independent primary school John Colet in Belrose - where pupils study Shakespeare and sanskrit, public speaking and philosophy - is also listed in the top percentile.

Headmaster Julian Wilcock said having a “traditional curriculum”, “development of the whole child” and teachers who stay with their class across multiple years make for “happy children (who) learn better”.

“We do see primary as the most important part of a child’s education,” he said.

“Our children do well because they’re challenged ... they tend to thrive in high school regardless of whether they go to a public or an independent school.”

The suburbs with the most schools in the top 50 include Wahroonga, with 3 schools, Epping and North Epping with four, and Beecroft, Carlingford, Castle Hill, Cherrybrook, North Sydney and Woollahra, all with two spots each.

Sydney Catholic Schools education and research director Kevin Carragher said their schools had the benefit of sharing expertise and resources across 147 schools in Sydney.

“At the heart of this are our excellent teachers and leaders who are at the forefront of best practice, and are constantly upscaling their own expertise to maximise student outcomes,”

“We have an exceedingly strong commitment to ensuring all students are challenged and supported in their learning, regardless of their starting point.

“We have a strong culture of differentiating teaching and learning, providing quality interventions and support to our more vulnerable students and enrichment and extension to our gifted students through our Newman (selective stream and enrichment) program.”

“Importantly, our educators focus on fostering school communities that celebrate a love of learning, where no child is left behind.”