Victoria’s best-performing VCE schools over the past five years revealed
The best-performing VCE schools over the past five years have been revealed, with battler schools improving and some private institutions declining.
Education
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Six years of VCE data shows battler high schools are posting the biggest improvements in VCE scores while some top private school marks are falling.
In recent years there has been a stagnation or drop in results from independent schools, such as PEGS in Essendon, Toorak College, Ivanhoe Grammar, Woodleigh School and Wesley College, exclusive analysis by the Good Education Group shows.
The 2015 to 2020 VCE data trends provide a clue of what we can expect on December 16 when the 2021 VCE results are released.
They show regional and outer suburban high schools in areas such as Mallacoota, East Loddon, Narre Warren South and Beechworth are posting the biggest gains in the percentage of students getting more than 40.
In 2020, Narre Warren South P-12 had 13 per cent of its 34 VCE students getting over 40, compared with just 3 per cent six years ago. East Loddon P-12 has gone from no students getting over 40 to 13 per cent last year and 17 per cent in 2019. Beechworth Secondary College has gone from none to 13 per cent.
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The high schools have high results but not the same rate of improvement.
Selective entry school Melbourne High in 2020 had 30 per cent of VCE students getting over 40 – down from 35 per cent in 2015. Mac. Robertston Girls’ High School now has 30 per cent of its VCE students getting over 40, down from 38 per cent in 2015. Balwyn High has fallen to 17 per cent, Camberwell High has fallen to 5 per cent and Mount Waverley Secondary College is stagnant on 8 per cent.
The analysis also shows private girls’ schools have some of the highest rates of VCE score decline, including Fintona, Lauriston, Mentone Girls’ Grammar and Shelford Grammar.
Other schools, such as Bialik College and Mount Scopus Memorial College, continue to post outstanding results. Bialik has improved from 36 to 39 per cent of students getting more than 40 in their VCE results. Mount Scopus has improved from 35 per cent to 39 per cent.
Strathcona Girls’ Grammar is another strong performer over time.
Good Education Group product head Ross White said some schools “have achieved measurable gains in the past five years”. “A school’s academic results can be influenced by a wide variety of factors, including but not limited to location, student demographic and selective verse non-selective,” he said.
Mount Scopus Memorial College teacher and head of media Tammy Ciddor said the school “strives to create well-rounded individuals who utilise all aspects of school life”.
Year 12 student at the school Tali Hazan praised “the environment and the teachers for their hard work”.
“Everyone tries to do the best for everyone,” she said.
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