Making their mark: The regional and outer suburban campuses ranked among NSW’s Top 100 Public High Schools
Several Western Sydney and rural schools have made a strong showing in the nations’s top 100 public high schools, proving location is no barrier to academic excellence.
Inner-city selective schools and those in the wealthy suburbs of Sydney’s north shore might dominate the national list of Australia’s Top 100 Public High Schools – but several Western Sydney and rural schools ranked strongly to prove that way out west is sometimes best.
Ungarie Central School in NSW’s Central West region is nearly 400km from the Sydney CBD, situated around halfway between Forbes and Griffith.
It has just 89 students but it’s the 81st best government high school in NSW, according to an exclusive analysis of NAPLAN results, attendance records, student-teacher ratios and financial data.
Principal Terrie Payne knows all her students by name and speaks proudly of her recent graduates, easily rattling off their post-school accomplishments off the top of her head.
Her school’s inclusion among the top 100 recognises what Ms Payne said the students and their parents already know – that “we do things really well”.
“It’s a real cause for celebration, and something that I think our families will be really proud of,” she said.
“I just want the city schools to know that we’re here, and we get really good results as well.”
It’s one of two remote schools appearing in NSW’s top 100, the other being Trundle Central School in the Parkes Shire at number 90 – a neighbour of Ungarie’s, by bush standards.
The highest-ranking schools located outside of Sydney are fully selective, such as Gosford High School on the Central Coast in 17th spot, and Merewether High School in the Newcastle suburb of Broadmeadow at 24th.
Also in Broadmeadow, the Hunter School of Performing Arts ranks 66th with its year 9 reading, writing and grammar scores in the 600s.
Blacktown Boys High School in greater Western Sydney is partially selective, but with three support classes for students with special needs, and one in six – at most – of the 900 kids admitted through the selective stream, ranking 40th overall is no mean feat.
“We’re very proud of where we are (in Western Sydney) and the results that we have achieved – last year we had over 20 students with ATARs over 90,” he said.
“One of the things that really drives us here is to make sure that the boys … have wonderful pathways that they can pursue when they finish school, and there’s no prejudice because of where they live or their socio-economic status.”
Year 12 student Yaduraj Tripathi said the “diverse and multicultural community” at Blacktown Boys sets his school apart from others.
“Students come from many different backgrounds and that’s what builds our school community,” he said.
“The diversity and multiculturalism in our school gives every student a chance to strive for academic excellence.”
The Ponds High School in Sydney’s northwest growth corridor is the largest public secondary school in NSW with more than 2200 students crammed onto its campus, yet it’s also one of the top-ranked comprehensive schools at 52nd spot – landing higher than Rose Bay Secondary College in the wealthy eastern suburbs at 59th.
Richmond High School in the Hawkesbury River region and Blaxland High School in the lower Blue Mountains also made the list, at 89th and 99th place respectively.
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Originally published as Making their mark: The regional and outer suburban campuses ranked among NSW’s Top 100 Public High Schools
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