By Alex Crowe and Craig Butt
Melba College class of ’24 started each morning at their government school in Croydon by having a hot chocolate and a yarn with principal Matthew Lee.
Home group became a chance for Lee to hear from students and for year 12s to catch up and support each other.
Melba College principal Matthew Lee and students (from left) Delaney Ball, Anna Setford and Ashley Geary-Smith.Credit: Jason South
“This cohort’s superpower was that they looked out for each other and they worked together,” Lee said.
“Feeling that we were there with them was really helpful.”
It worked – Melba College year 12s supported each other to achieve the school’s best VCE result on record this year, gaining a median study score of 31, the marker of an academically solid institution.
In addition to joining the “30 club”, Melba College achieved a median ATAR of 76 and had 11 subjects with an average score over 30. There were three student ATARs in the 90s, including the school dux, Delaney Ball, who received 97.25.
Lee said Melba College’s success came from shifting its focus to academic excellence, expecting more from its VCE students.
A new study centre opened where year 12s were encouraged to spend free periods and staff motivated students to think about career paths.
“We do some rigorous course counselling in year 10, and we make sure that we have regular meetings with the students throughout VCE, talking about how they’re going and how the effort equates to the trajectory they’re working towards,” he said.
Lee started at Melba College six years ago, the same time the year 12s did. The morning meetings that started with them have become breakfast for all year levels, with the hope of continuing their success.
“I’ve seen the whole journey as they’ve moved from bright-eyed year 7s to exceptional year 12s,” he said.
“It’s a pretty special moment in time.”
Across Melbourne, Good News Lutheran College has been working on “project 30 plus” since 2021.
Principal Fiona McAuliffe created a head teaching and learning position and brought in Tracy Williams to start with the basics.
Good News Lutheran College principal Fiona McAuliffe and top students Anagah Gupta (centre) and Shiv Patel.
“Being on time, being prepared, completing homework ... It might sound simple, but setting that up was important,” McAuliffe said.
Good News class of ’24 not only completed “project 30 plus” but broke its record with a median ATAR of 75.90, including 30 subject scores of 40 or above.
Almost 15 per cent of students had an ATAR above 90, including dux Anagah Gupta, who achieved 99.55, and proxime accessit Shiv Patel, who got 98.85.
Williams said Good News had prioritised providing students with feedback to help them improve.
“We’re looking at the results that we’re getting and asking what that information tells us about what we need to change,” McAuliffe said.
She said the more teachers delved into the data the more they had wanted to know.
“The more success we have, the hungrier our teachers are to want to do more.”
McAuliffe said there had been a celebration in the staff room when Good News saw the ATAR results on Thursday.
Caroline Chisholm Catholic College acting principal Laura Ruddick and the late Robert Brennan.Credit: Nine
“We were so happy we went: let’s invite every 90 and above in with their families. They all got phone calls from us to say, ‘Congratulations, we’re so proud of you’.”
Caroline Chisholm Catholic College’s upward ATAR trajectory was special for a different reason.
Caroline Chisholm officially joined the “30 club” in 2016, but a 31 had been the dream of its late former principal Robert Brennan.
Brennan was diagnosed with brain cancer on Boxing Day last year and died in March, leaving behind his wife, Tracy Brennan, and three children.
“It was devastating,” acting principal Laura Ruddick said. “Over 2000 people attended the funeral here at the college, it was full of students and past colleagues.”
A former student and college captain, Brennan had “come home to the west” to lead the Braybrook school three years earlier.
Taking charge of Caroline Chisholm meant leading a student cohort of 82 different nationalities, mostly Sudanese, Burmese and Vietnamese. Almost a quarter of students are from disadvantaged backgrounds.
Brennan overhauled the teaching framework, strengthened ties with parents and even introduced year 7 exams. Through his dedication, the school has gained a median study point each year since 2021.
“The No.1 thing that he believed was by getting the kids to believe in themselves, they can achieve anything, and that’s what we did,” Ruddick said.
“We started to make them believe in themselves.”
Ruddick said Brennan had made no secret of his 31 goal and the year 12s were determined to make him proud.
“During my last conversation with him he asked me to do two things: he asked me to lead the school next year and to get him the 31,” Ruddick said.
“So it was a pretty phenomenal moment on Thursday, sharing that news with the staff and students.”
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