Toowoomba’s Greenmount State School principal Andrea Moy comments on NAPLAN results success

After the NAPLAN results were revealed for every Toowoomba school, the principal of a small, rural school has provided insight into how it has maintained its ranking as one of the region’s top schools.

A small school in the Toowoomba region with a team of no more than two teachers has been praised for its consecutive success in the National Assessment Program.

An independent analysis of NAPLAN results revealed Greenmount State School was the fourth highest performing school in Toowoomba between 2017 and 2021.

Overall, the primary school’s year 5 cohort achieved a score of 2622.0 over the five years, a result that placed the school third falling just behind The Glennie School’s score of 2643.5.

It was also the highest ranked state school, ahead of Geham State School in sixth place and Toowoomba East State School in eighth place.

Greenmount State School principal Andrea Moy has praised the school's students, teachers and staff after it was revealed the small school was ranked as the region's fourth highest in NAPLAN. Picture: Contributed

Greenmount State School principal Andrea Moy said she was proud of the teachers, staff, students and community volunteers.

“(Our school) has an embedded philosophy of being ‘strong, safe and successful’, where self-esteem is actively promoted and mutual respect forms the basis of positive relationships,” she said.

“We focus on each student as an individual and emphasise the development of skills necessary for lifelong learning and participation in society as a responsible, active and reflective citizen.”

Ms Moy said the school, which was located about 20 minutes west of Toowoomba, employed experienced early childhood teachers who understood the importance of consistent routine, structure and explicit teaching.

She said staff were assured students were set on a path to success due to several of the school’s initiatives including the Positive Behaviour for Learning program.

This year, students participated in creative classes including sewing, painting, leatherwork, woodwork and cooking, among others, as part of the school’s Options Program.

Designed to meet the diverse academic and social needs of all students, the program provided support to all students to ensure their future successes.

Greenmount State School principal Andrea Moy has praised the school's students, teachers and staff after it was revealed the small school was ranked as the region's fourth highest in NAPLAN. Picture: Contributed

Ms Moy said Greenmount’s robust approach to early literacy and numeracy had also proven to be successful.

In 2017, the school introduced an evidence-based literacy program that provided students with essential reading and writing knowledge, including phonics, comprehension and vocabulary skills.

“Both teachers and students enjoy the sequential, consistent, yet varied structure where spelling rules are remembered through songs, poems and actions,” Ms Moy said.

“There are many high-quality resources and activities experienced on a daily basis in class and many wonderful on-topic and in-depth discussions are held for further consolidation.”