Top SA public schools outperforming many leading private schools in latest Better Education rankings

You don’t have to pay $30,000 a year for a good education. Many public schools across the state are outranking big private colleges in a new analysis. See which ones are making the grade.

Minlaton District School principal Andrew Dickinson and students Madi-Lee Ryan, Sasha May, and Kalan Modra are happy their school has ranked among the state's top 50 best schools according to Better Education. Picture: Tom Huntley

The best performing high schools in South Australia have been named in new rankings which show both large schools and tiny campuses are achieving top results.

The state’s largest public school, Glenunga International High School, shares top spot for the second year running with the prestigious private institutions Pembroke School and St Peter’s College in the 2023 analysis of academic outcomes by Better Education.

All three scored a maximum 100 points and five private schools scored an almost perfect 99 including St John’s Grammar, Prince Alfred College and Southern Montessouri School in O’Sullivan Beach.

There are 13 public schools among the list of 52 institutions which also features private schools which charge more than $30,000 for Year 12 tuition.

Large sites such as Glenunga (about 2290 students), Adelaide High School (about 1840) and The Heights School (about 1780) are named alongside small non-government campuses including The Hills Montessori School (about 170) and Sunrise Christian School in Naracoorte (about 120).

The Better Education website states it is run independently and analyses data provided by schools to generate “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”.

It has been operating since 2008 and gives schools a score of between 60 and 100 based on factors including performance in English and mathematics.

Every school in the top 52 scored at least 90 out of 100.

Flinders University education analyst professor John Halsey said rankings often “depend on the cohort of the students at a particular time and the socio-economic standing and the capacities of the families”.

“The factors that you bring to school can count for as much as 80 per cent in terms of the weighting towards the achievement profile,” Prof Halsey said.

However, he said there are schools “doing absolutely incredible work with students” from families who are not particularly wealthy.

“There are students who have a lot of nous and common sense and are very innovative in what they can do and how they can make do,” he said.

However “just citing the score doesn’t tell the (full) picture”, Prof Halsey said.

“What’s the person actually like, what are their relationship skills like, what’s their empathy like?” he said of the limitations of such rankings.

Minlaton District School principal Andrew Dickinson and students Madi-Lee Ryan, Sasha May, and Kalan Modra are happy their school has ranked among the state's top 50 best schools according to Better Education. Picture: Tom Huntley

Minlaton District School on the Yorke Peninsula, with about 270 students, ranked 35th on the list and was listed in the top five for public schools.

Principal of the R-12 school, Andrew Dickinson, said the school rewrote its “vision of value” at the start of last year and surveyed parents, staff and students on what education should look like.

Teachers focus on “developing the emotional intelligence of our kids” at Minlaton and as a result, their grades have improved.

“They’ve been much more able to engage with learning here at school,” Mr Dickinson said.

“With the focus on emotional intelligence the sort of little things that were getting in the way of learning at other schools don’t get in the way.

“Those low level interruptions just aren’t there.”

Textbooks and worksheets are rare and instead classes involve discussions between teachers and students.

“It’s happening here a little bit more (teachers not relying on worksheets) because we have those great relationships in the classroom,” Mr Dickinson said.

Education Minister Blair Boyer said public education plays an “extremely important role” in the South Australian community and praised the “strong leadership” of Mr Dickinson and his team.

“The opportunities available to students in public schools are endless, which is why I’m not surprised to see public schools right at the top of this list,” Mr Boyer said.

“This focus on wellbeing (at Minlaton) is a really important way to engage students and leads to better academic outcomes.”

Education Minister Blair Boyer. Picture: NCA NewsWire / Naomi Jellicoe

John Gardner speaking. Picture: Matt Loxton

Opposition education spokesman John Gardner said “regional communities like Minlaton should celebrate the strong results of their local school”.

“Data like this can be useful in helping to provide background for families, but it only tells part of the story: different schools operate in entirely different contexts, and some put greater emphasis on different pathways,” Mr Gardner said.

Originally published as Top SA public schools outperforming many leading private schools in latest Better Education rankings