By Alex Crowe
Medicine. Law. Computer science.
Braybrook College year 12 students Jecka Gloria, Katie Vo and Jamal Laqui have ambitious post-school plans, and they’re far from outliers at their inner-west public school.
Braybrook College year 12 students Jecka Gloria, Katie Vo and Jamal Laqui have their sights on university after graduating this year.Credit: Eddie Jim
The three VCE students are following the footsteps of similarly minded high-achievers from the 2023 graduating class – a cohort that helped the Braybrook school of more than 1000 students achieve its best-ever VCE study score results.
Jecka, 17, said their predecessors’ impressive scores are mostly a motivator, but the pressure is there too.
“Obviously, we want to do well, so we’re using all the resources and doing the best that we can,” she said.
Braybrook College’s median study score last year reached an all-time high of 33, beating the school’s own target of 32. The percentage of students with a study score of 40 or higher also surged to a decade-high of 16.9 per cent, jumping from 9.1 per cent in 2014.
For the improvement it has shown in its VCE results over the past decade, Braybrook College has been awarded The Age’s 2024 Schools that Excel winner for government schools in Melbourne’s west.
The annual series celebrates schools that achieve outstanding advancement in their VCE results.
You can explore a decade of VCE results data for your high school and view the full list of winning schools using this year’s Schools that Excel dashboard:
Braybrook’s resources include academic advice from successful former students hired to work at the school’s dedicated year 12 campus classroom. Past high-achievers also tutor current students during Braybrook’s after-school homework club.
A staff careers team meets with each student to discuss subject selection starting from year 10. Plus, four educational experts visit the school each year to provide an outside perspective.
Assistant principal Arlene Bailey said the experts included former deans of private colleges who offer VCE students advice and identify areas for improvement.
“It could be as simple as when do you study? Are there any sort of challenges? How much do you work? What sort of food do you eat? When do you exercise?” she said. “It’s also often a networking opportunity which our kids don’t often have access to in their own lives.”
More than 80 per cent of Braybrook students speak a language other than English at home, with more than 30 languages in the mix.
Assistant principals Arlene Bailey and Tania Gadea are part of a team at Braybrook working with VCE students to help them achieve results.Credit: Eddie Jim
Jecka, who wants to work in healthcare, and Jamal, who plans to work for Google, are among the high percentage of students born overseas. Katie, who is on track for law school, is the first in her family to complete VCE.
Senior school leader Tania Gadea said the school had developed a culture where students took pride in their achievements.
“One of the first things I do at the start of the year, though, is I say: ‘Well, we’ve had this amazing success, but that doesn’t happen for breathing the same air or after being in the same space. It’s from putting in that hard work and having that same belief in yourself,’” she said.
“I think at other schools it wouldn’t be seen as ‘cool’ but here, the students want to do well.”
Heathdale Christian College principal Ross Grace and year 12 student Mia Wilkinson.Credit: Jason South
When Heathdale Christian College principal Ross Grace talks about success, it is with each student in mind, from kindergarten to graduation.
“We recognise to get to year 12 is a journey,” he said. “So it’s identifying what we can do to support students learning along the journey, so they can achieve what they’re capable of achieving.
“Part of our theological fundamental belief is that each student is valued for who they are.”
Heathdale Christian College’s median VCE study score reached a 10-year high of 31 last year, climbing from a score of 28 in 2014. The percentage of students with a study score of 40 or above was 8.4 per cent, compared with 4.4 per cent in 2014. These achievements are all the more impressive considering the school recorded its largest-ever cohort of students undertaking year 12 subjects in 2023.
Heathdale Christian College has been awarded The Age’s 2024 Schools that Excel winner for non-government schools in Melbourne’s west.
Grace said Heathdale always had a reputation for academic excellence in the region, which had improved through a changed approach to teaching.
“We want our teachers to see learning through the eyes of their students,” he said. “Our focus is on the learning growth of each student, not just results.”
Since Grace started at Heathdale eight years ago, enrolments have grown by 30 per cent to 2300 students across the Melton and Werribee campuses.
In 2025, Melton will begin offering year 12 for the first time to meet the increased demand.
Year 12 student Mia Wilkinson is among the students due to graduate in 2024 after attending Heathdale since kindergarten.
She said the extra support provided at Heathdale was what set it apart. “Every single teacher wants to see you succeed, and will set you up to see you succeed,” Mia said.
With Craig Butt
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