Long before the school year starts, families scramble to find the best primary school in Adelaide for their children. The wealth of data to consider, that might point to one school being the best, is overwhelming. Furthermore, it's all scattered across many websites. So, Superprof endeavours to gather data for the top 10 primary schools in Adelaide, into this handy guide.
| 🏫School name | 🔎Internet search volume | 💹SEA percentage | 📈NAPLAN |
|---|---|---|---|
| Linden Park Primary School | 700 | 97 | 511.4 |
| Rose Park Primary School | 450 | 98 | 497.8 |
| Norwood Primary School | 600 | 92 | 486.6 |
| East Marden Primary School | 1100 | 90 | 490.3 |
| Burnside Primary School | 800 | 96 | 494.1 |
| St Peter's College | 450 | 97 | 508.2 |
| St Peter's Collegiate Girls' School | 10 | 99 | 516 |
| Pembroke School | 2000 | 98 | 512.1 |
| Seymour College | 2700 | 94 | 492.2 |
| St Mary's Memorial School | 80 | 87 | 461.9 |
The Best Primary School in Adelaide
Before we list the top primary schools in Adelaide, some food for thought. After all the rankings, the numbers, the surveys, and the campus tours, the best primary school in Adelaide is the one that suits your and your child's needs the best.
It might not hold the highest NAPLAN ranking, or have the best teacher/student ratio.
Instead, it will have the features and programs your child needs for optimal academic and personal growth. Such a school will have your child excited to attend, and keen to tell you all about their activities at the school day's end. This exemplary learning facility might include:
art study facilities:
- music rooms
- drama and dance programs
- art instruction
access to science exploration:
- laboratories
- technology studios
- nature study initiatives
physical education programs:
- outdoor playgrounds
- indoor gym facilities
- sports programs
academic engagement:
- teacher-student ratio
- diversity of learning programs
- rankings
In general terms, primary schools across Australia follow the same educational standards. They are government mandated, and subject to revision each school year. Sometimes, each semester.
That suggests parents should consider factors beyond school rankings and curricula to make their enrolment decisions. The following schools offer a variety of features and amenities that may appeal to students, and their caregivers.
Best Primary Schools in South Australia: Public Schools
As noted above, our national government sets academic and curriculum standards for the whole country. Public schools tend to follow those guidelines and mandates the closest. However, that doesn't mean these schools are institutional in nature. In fact, they're quite progressive, and do much to engage their students.
Linden Park Primary School
Just outside Adelaide's Central Business District (CBD), to the east. we find this midsized learning facility. Sixty-six teachers lead instruction for 982 students (503 boys, 479 girls).
They present the International Baccalaureate School curriculum, which includes:
academic work
standard primary courses, such as language and maths.
artistic exploration
a variety of disciplines, from dance to painting.
sports participation
indoor and outdoor activities.
As a school catering to an international student body, Linden Park offers many enrichment programs. Students may choose from French language studies, as well as courses with an emphasis on art or science.
Rose Park Primary School
While Linden Park focuses on education's international possibilities, Rose Park remains firmly in the academic achievement camp.
This school has developed a curriculum that offers the best of both worlds. It presents a combination of International Baccalaureate Primary Years Programme, and Australian and South Australian Curriculum elements.
Their 487 students (244 boys and 243 girls) participate enrichment programs throughout their primary years. Those include performing arts, physical education, Japanese language studies, and science and technology programs. Thirty-one teachers lead the effort, with a support staff of 12 assistants.
Norwood Primary School
The primary schools we've covered so far proudly announce how much they deviate from the standard curriculum. Unlike, say, Brisbane's top primary schools, it seems Adelaide schools like to strike their own educational notes.
Norwood Primary is no different, in that regard.
Students taking an active role in their learning.
Norwood follows the Australian Curriculum but these teachers put their own twist on how they teach it. They provoke students' curiosity in their subjects, and guide them to find their own solutions. Along the way, students develop critical thinking and problem-solving skills, and confidence in their rational abilities.
East Marden Primary School
The 36 educators teaching at this Adelaide primary school have a plan. They want to help their 564 students (288 boys and 276 girls) get ready to face their futures.
Our vision for our students ... to be successful and responsible citizens of the 21st Century.
From the school's prospectus.
Their focus on higher-order thinking skills, applied to literacy and numeracy, suggests that East Marden pupils don't just learn the curriculum. They study it and come away with the ability to rationalise. But, perhaps the best part about the East Marden approach is that these teachers foster a lifelong love of learning.
Burnside Primary School
This school teaches the Australian Curriculum but, like all the other top primary schools in Adelaide, its teachers do so with a twist. Their greatest concern, besides teaching academics, is ensuring their students come away with an ingrained sense of worth and accomplishment.
Year range:
Receiving to Year 6
Students:
- 692 total students
- 389 boys
- 303 girls
Staff:
- 45 teachers
- 21 administrators
Like all the schools listed so far, Burnside's educational program relies equally on nurturing and academic excellence. However, this primary school adds its own ingredients to make their programs a success. Among them, we count science, French studies, Performing arts, and physical education.
Best Primary Schools in Adelaide: Independent Schools
Unlike primary schools in the Perth area, Adelaide independent schools rank higher than public schools. That is, we found more non-government schools in this city's Top Ten ranks, than public schools.
That doesn't mean that paying private school tuition is your guarantee to quality education, though. It simply means that those schools have more favourable data. By now, we all know that data are just numbers to help us decide on the right school. They're not the fabled yellow brick road to academic success. 💛
St Peter's College
This Anglican school is for boys only. Its 162 teachers steer 1566 learners' academic efforts, some of whom are boarders. Note that St Peter's is a Receiving through Year 12 school (R-12); not all these learners are primary students.
St Peter's outdoor education program challenges pupils' athletic abilities, endurance, and determination to succeed.
Looking over a St Peter's prospectus, you might be tempted to think that this school is all work and no play. To be sure, this school offers a rigorous academic program, but these teachers are just as devoted to building students' minds and character, too. We can think of at least one Sydney-area primary school that offers as much as St Peter's does.
St Peter's Collegiate Girls' School
By any metric, this is the best primary school in Adelaide. Like its boys' school counterpart, this St Peter's takes a holistic approach to education. The teachers and staff foster trust and cooperation, emphasisingn the importance of parental involvement in pupils' development and learning.
This school boasts an impressive 10-to-1 student teacher ratio.
St Peter's has 86 teachers, and 70 non-teaching staff, for 844 students.
This girls' school opened its door in 1894, to provide girls with educational opportunities they were denied at other schools. Still today, St Peter's rises above the fray, offering primary school students International Baccalaureate (IB) education. Besides this more rigorous curriculum, students may take part in many other enrichment activities.
Pembroke School
Independent schools have the luxury of choosing their curriculum. Like St Peter's Girls' School, Pembroke offers primary students the IB curriculum, or they may choose the standard Australian Curriculum.
Besides academic excellence, Pembroke is known for:
Delivering all this, on top of academic excellence, is a tall order for this school's 192 teachers (plus 111 support staff). Still, these educators deliver their best to the 1 675 students they teach (883 boy, 792 girls). That's across all grades, from Receiving to Year 12. Indeed, Pembroke is rather like a top primary school in Melbourne, in that regard.
Seymour College
It seems that, in Adelaide, girls' schools rule. Seymour College is another such facility, and it has much to offer. We might start with its excellent teacher-student ratio: 75 educators for 727 pupils.
Keep in mind that this college welcomes learners as young as six weeks, through Year 12. Also, bear in mind the fact that Seymour offers its students a unique learning initiative.
Seymour teachers use a targeted group learning model to reach and teach their students.
Like other top primary schools in Adelaide, Seymour specialises in student nurturing, while fostering a dynamic learning environment. The campus itself encourages reflection and an immersion, particularly its lovely green - the oval, and its many amenities.
St Mary's Memorial School
At first glance, this school's numbers underwhelm. Only 80 internet searches for it? Only 461 NAPLAN average - and, at that, nearly every qualifer under average? But, we must look at what makes St Mary's so great.
Equality: 43% in the top quarter, and 34% in the middle quarter for socio-educational advantage. It's the only school on our list with more girls (220) than boys (202)
This school only welcomes students from Reception to Year 5.
It emphasises religious education as a part of its curriculum.
On top of all that, students may take part in the school's Japanese learning program, or explore visual and performing arts. They may also dabble in Design and Technology. Even the best primary schools in Canberra could not boast such specific qualities.
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