By Lucy Carroll, Nigel Gladstone, Christopher Harris, Nick Newling and Anthony Segaert
North Sydney Boys has claimed the number one spot in the Higher School Certificate for the second year running, narrowly eclipsing rival academic powerhouse James Ruse Agricultural High.
Sydney Grammar stormed into third place with its best result in six years, making it the top-performing private school, while Normanhurst Boys returned its strongest results on record, surging to fourth.
The principal of North Sydney Boys, Brian Ferguson, assembled his senior students in the library at noon.
“Hang on, I just got a text,” he told students. “You did it again. The best school in the state.”
He told the Herald: “I feel like we’ve done the impossible. And it feels a bit surreal. They were really inspired from last year, the notion of ‘you can’ and ‘it’s possible’.
“I am incredibly excited just to see the fruits of a year group that worked so hard to try and follow the example of the previous year.”
North Sydney students celebrate their success in the school’s library on Wednesday afternoon.Credit: Flavio Brancaleone
James Ruse principal Matt Dopierala, who started in the role in November after eight years as deputy at North Sydney Boys, said students and teachers were celebrating on Wednesday.
“We are working with the brightest kids in the system, and we are so happy for them,” he said. “The students are exceptional, love learning and sharing similar passions among the year groups. There is a fire among the kids.”
A Herald analysis of this year’s HSC results reveals seven academically selective public high schools have taken out places in this year’s top 10, up from five last year. Private co-ed school Reddam House, which does not require students to sit an entry exam, has maintained its grip on fifth spot.
All-girls private school Abbotsleigh in Wahroonga placed 10th, just ahead of Meriden in Strathfield, which achieved its best result in more than two decades and this month was also named a high-growth NAPLAN school.
Kambala came in at 12th, followed by the Conservatorium High School.
A delighted Normanhurst Boys High School principal, Asli Harman, said her students had reaped the reward for their effort. “It’s a whole community effort over a period of time.
“The students were really engaged. The whole year group would attend voluntary lunch lessons, they stayed back for targeted additional lessons. They worked. They put in the effort. Staff were giving up their time. I’m still trying to process it all.”
Willoughby Girls High was the highest-placed public comprehensive school at 55th, while Newtown High School of Performing Arts climbed more than 30 places to 56th, and Cheltenham Girls’ High ranked 57th.
Epping Boys High has leapt 20 places to become the fourth-placed non-selective public school at 60th after recording its best result on record, propelled by a success rate of almost 25 per cent.
St Clare’s College at Waverley was the top Catholic systemic school at 48th, just behind Barker College and ahead of Kincoppal-Rose Bay and several selective schools. Parramatta Marist High and Brigidine Randwick rounded out the top three Catholic schools.
North Sydney Boys has maintained its hold on first place on the back of a major lift in English advanced scores over the past six years. The school sensationally took top place last year, ending James Ruse’s 27-year reign as number one.
However, the gap between the top two selective schools has narrowed from nine percentage points last year to just two this year as North Sydney Boys’ success rate fell to 64.9 per cent.
The Herald calculates its rankings using success rates, which are the ratio of band 6, or E4 results, marks of 90 and above compared to the number of students who sat exams.
North Sydney Boys’ success rate declined by five percentage points, while James Ruse improved by almost three percentage points.
Of the top 300 schools, 73 were public comprehensives, up from 67 last year, while 16 were partially selective and 20 were fully selective. Private schools took 131 places, and Catholic schools 60.
An analysis of the top 50 schools shows that 21 are single-sex private institutions, and seven are single-sex public schools. Nineteen all-girls schools ranked in the top 50 compared with 10 boys-only schools.
Some of the biggest improvers this year include Barrenjoey High, skyrocketing 223 spots, and The Ponds High, which leapt by more than 100 places.
Pittwater House School jumped almost 50 places to 49th, its best result on record. Marist Catholic College North Shore, which became co-ed several years ago, climbed more than 40 places to 76th.
Overall, public schools’ success rate was up on average 1.9 percentage points and selective schools jumped about 1.5 points. Independent schools, which dominated Tuesday’s first-in-course awards, had an average of one-third of a point increase in their success rate.
The share of high marks needed to crack the number one spot has tumbled from 77 per cent in 2017 to 65 per cent this year, but the average success rate of the top 10 has stayed at about 55 per cent for the past decade.
The Herald’s analysis only includes schools where at least 150 HSC subject results have been registered. Band 6 and E4 results in different subjects are not equal.
Each band awarded represents what a student knows, understands and can do within each course. The average performance in most courses is usually a mark in the mid-70s, or a band 4.
Sydney Grammar School students Oliver Hoang, Felix Lin and Tom Collins topped their subjects in the HSC. The school has risen to third overall and regained its place as the state’s top private school.Credit: Janie Barrett
The NSW Education Standards Authority only provides band 6 results, although the Herald publishes a separate analysis on improvement based on schools’ average scores each year.
The data is not adjusted for socioeconomic advantage, and almost all of the top 150 schools have students who come from the most advantaged backgrounds.
This year there were 1457 all-rounder students – those who achieved top band results for 10 or more units. All-boys schools Sydney Grammar had 64 and Knox Grammar had 63 students on the list.
Other schools with more than 50 all-rounders included James Ruse (61), Baulkham Hills High (55), and North Sydney Boys High (53).
Nara Gong from James Ruse and Sophia Budkin from Reddam House both achieved band 6 results in nine subjects.
Another 36 students achieved band 6 results in at least eight subjects, with many sitting some of their exams last year in accelerated programs.
There are 57,194 students eligible for an ATAR this year, with the median ATAR for girls at 72.40 and boys at 70.4.
The top ATAR mark of 99.95 was achieved by nine girls and 42 boys.