TOP OF THE CLASS
REVEALED: Queensland’s best schools in Toowoomba
TOOWOOMBA Anglican School and Fairholme College are among the best ranked schools in the state, analysis of education providers shows, with TAS scoring in the top two per cent.
FOUR Toowoomba schools have been named among the top 100 in Queensland following an analysis among state and private education providers, with one local school scoring in the top two per cent of schools in the state.
According to independent Australian academic website Better Education, Toowoomba Anglican School is the best ranked school in the region with a score of 99 out of 100 and is in the top two per cent of primary schools in the state.
Meanwhile, Fairholme College has taken out the title of best high school in the region with a score of 98, placing it in the top six per cent of Queensland’s secondary schools.
Head of Primary at Toowoomba
Here at Fairholme we believe in a lifelong learning culture that really prevails all else.
TOM MCCORMICK
Anglican School Jason Locke said TAS had always done well in the annual Better Education rankings, but this was the best score the school had received to date.
“This great outcome is a direct result of the hard work of our students, staff and parents,” he said.
“Better Education takes into account a number of assessment criterias when awarding these scores each year, including attendance, engagement and extracuricular activities – it’s not just about academic achievement so receiving 99 out of 100 is something the whole school is very proud of.”
Mr Locke explained this was the first year NAPLAN results were not being revealed on a school versus school basis, with the Australian Curriculum, Assessment and Reporting Authority’s My School website instead taking more of a student-based progress approach to its reporting.
“The Better Education report provides a good indication of the wider aspects that make schools great, such as the school community and culture which is something we’re very passionate about here at TAS,” he said.
“Here we really value the allround student, which is exactly what the Better Education analysis supports and portrays.”
Fairholme College’s head of secondary Tom McCormick said the college’s score reflected Fairholme’s strong learning culture.
“Here at Fairholme we believe in a lifelong learning culture that really prevails all else,” he said.
“All of the education staff members take classes including myself and our school principal Dr Linda Evans, and there’s a number of teachers pursuing their masters and doctorates in a number of subjects and specialities.”
Year 12 student Sarah Craft has been a Fairholme College girl since
kindergarten and said she believed it was Fairholme College’s dedicated teachers and students who had garnered the college such an impressive score.
“Our teachers really go above and beyond their call of duty, staying back after class to answer questions and help us,” she said.
“The students here are also extremely grateful to study here and motivated to do their best in their chosen fields which makes for a really positive, high-achieving atmosphere.”
The Glennie School and Toowoomba Grammar School also make the grade, with Glennie scoring a 96, placing it in the top 11 per cent of high schools in the state while Grammar scored 97, making it part of the top nine per cent.
Glennie also made it into the top eight per cent of the primary schools in the state with a score of 97.