Across our country, we have a blend of schools to educate our children into their future. They come in three flavours: government-funded and run, independent, and private (there is a difference!). In this article, we list the top public schools as one category, and independent/private as another. However, this chart ranks these public schools according to their NAPLAN rankings, regardless of type.
| 🏫School name Where? | 🔐Public/private? | 🔎Internet search traffic | 📊SEA percentile | 💹NAPLAN |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sydney Grammar School New South Wales | private | 5 300 searches/month | 99 | 595.5 |
| Brisbane Grammar School Queensland | private | 4 600 searches/month | 99 | 573 |
| Halleybury College Victoria | private | 1 800 searches/month | 99 | 557.2 |
| Abbotsleigh New South Wales | private | 3 200 searches/month | 99 | 553.1 |
| Presbyterian Ladies’ College Victoria | private | 2 300 searches/month | 99 | 551.5 |
| Matthew Pearce Public School New South Wales | public | 1 300 searches/month | 98 | 541 |
| Serpell Primary School Victoria | public | 1 000 searches/month | 98 | 538.5 |
| Sunnybank Hills State School Queensland | public | 700 searches/month | 89 | 533.3 |
| Oberthur Primary Western Australia | public | 600 searches/month | 98 | 532.1 |
| Caladenia Primary school Western Australia | public | 800 | 87 | 519 |
Australian Primary Schools: Analysing the Data
For some people, seeing a school's name at the top of the list is enough for them to begin enrolment procedures. Those numbers tell us quite a lot.
The first, obvious point: the top primary schools in Australia are independent schools.
Next, New South Wales (NSW) and Victoria have the highest concentration of top performing schools in the country.
Also, these facilities tend to be single-gender - educating either only boys, or only girls. Now, we dig deeper into the data.
Internet Search Traffic
The more people search for the same keywords (search string), the more favourable a position that string holds in the results. The algorithm will boost high-volume searches, but what does that prove, exactly?
shows people's interest in that school
promotes the school's reputation
creates a positive feedback loop
no difference between organic and purpose-driven searches
no reason given for the searches
An organic search is one an interested party conducts, to learn more about something. A purpose-driven search might be a parent or student who needs quick access to the site, to conduct school business. The data doesn't tell why people are looking, only that they are.
Socio-educational Advantage
Australia's Department of Education strives for an even distribution of students, across all social and educational backgrounds. The closer that percentage lies to 100, the more strongly it implies that the school's student body comes from a similar background. This allows for:
NAPLAN Ratings
This is the metric everyone seems to turn to when deciding whether a school performs well. However, studying this data reveals several flaws. For instance, schools with larger student bodies will naturally achieve higher averages than those with comparably small student populations.
Sydney Grammar School 1 900+ students, NAPLAN 595.5
Matthew Pearce Primary School 1 200+ students, NAPLAN 541
NAPLAN rankings fail to credit students' academic skills, and socio-economic factors. They neglect learners' cultural backgrounds, particularly students for whom English is a second language. Finally, these rankings depend on a narrow set of questions to define an entire school's performance.
Still, these data points are the ones we (citizens and governments) rely on to decide the top primary schools in Australia. We take them at their worth, as we detail these facilities.
Independent Schools: The Top NAPLAN Schools
As noted above, NSW and Victoria boast the best primary schools in Australia, according to the data. In fact, Sydney is home to three of this state's best primary schools. Two such facilities are independent, and one is a public school, which we talk about in the next segment.
Sydney Grammar School
This all-boys' school opened its doors in 1857, established by an Act of Parliament three years earlier. At the time, it occupied a building, and its surrounding lands, on College Street. It was intended as a feeder university, to prepare students for higher-level learning at the newly-opened University of Sydney.
It is deemed expedient for the better advancement ...
From the Sydney Grammar School Act preamble
Today, this school spans three campuses: Darlinghurst, Edgecliff, and St Ives. The latter two house the kindergarten-through-Year 6 (K-6) facilities. Of the three centres, Darlinghurst has the largest student body. That suggests more pupils enrol from outside the Sydney Grammar School system at the higher levels.
Brisbane Grammar School
As the NSW government did in the olden days, so too did Queensland's. Those leaders established a Grammar Schools Act, which included this campus (in 1858). At the time, the purpose-built facility counted 94 students, and four teachers.
It didn't take long for the school to outgrow its buildings. In 1881, in part due to a steady rise in enrolments, it relocated to more spacious quarters on Gregory Terrace, where it operates today.
Note that Brisbane Grammar School teaches boys from Year 5 to 12. It offers no K-4 classes.
Haileybury College
This is the first (and only!) co-educational facility on our list of top NAPLAN schools, independent edition. It boasts a student body of nearly 5 000, spread across six Australian campuses, and one in Wuqing, China.
This school also has an online campus, called Haileybury Pangea.
Haileybury promotes its international learning community. It is among the top-ranked schools in Melbourne for its global connections, alone. This school maintains ties with schools in:
- England
- Indonesia
- China
- Timor-Leste.
- Bangladesh
- France
- Japan
- Indonesia
Abbotsleigh
We now return to NSW, and to single-gender education. This all-girls' school is grounded in the Anglican tradition, welcoming around 1 400 K-12 learners. It opened its doors in 1885, at a time when girls' education was not considered a priority.
This school's history proves how misguided earlier ideas on women's education was.
Soon after its opening in North Sydney, Abbotsleigh had to move to more spacious accommodations. The waiting list to enrol continued to grow even through the Second World War, when other schools shut their doors. Today's massive student population - and, their success in the rankings, demonstrate the value and need for girls' education.
Presbyterian Ladies' College, Melbourne
Note that Sydney also has a school by that name. However, this Melbourne facility far outshines it, in the rankings. This all-girls' school boasts enrolment of around 1 600 students, from pre-kindergarten through Year 12. However, it's curious how it got its start.
Primary School Ranking for Public Schools
Unlike private schools in Australia, publicly-funded schools must meet more stringent criteria:
- they must be co-educational
- they must make education available to all students in their containment areas
- they must provide assistance to students with special learning, and assistance needs
- they must follow the Australian Curriculum
With these points in mind, we now explore Australia's public schools with top primary school ranking.
Matthew Pearce Public School
As noted earlier, this public learning facility's ranking does not lag too far behind Sydney-area independent schools. It boasts a dynamic teaching staff, who reach and teach students by making learning desirable. In fact, fostering the love for lifelong learning is one reason for this school's success.
72 teachers
1 288 students (689 boys and 589 girls)
Year opened: 1982
School values: Excellence, Knowledge, Respect, and Care
Serpell Primary School
Matthew Pearce makes public education in NSW shine, and Serpell does the same in Victoria. This modern learning facility, set in the Melbourne suburb of Templestowe, welcomes more than 1 100 K-6 pupils. This campus boasts:
- interactive technology in every classroom
- expansive indoor and outdoor sports facilities
- a multilingual, multicultural approach to learning
- a student exchange program for (Year 6 pupils)
Sunnybank Hills State School
This top-ranked Brisbane primary school takes the phrase '21st Century education' to new heights. In its modern classroom, students can explore any topic, from coding principles to robotics.
It's not all technology at Sunnybank, though. Students may learn dance and other art forms, or indulge their passion for sports.
Students: 1 742 (914 boys, and 828 girls)
Teachers: 116, plus 51 staff
Representation: more than 50 cultures represented
Students from non-English-speaking homes: 84%
Perth-area Primary Schools
For some reason, we tend to discount Western Australia - or, at least, not include it in many 'best of' reviews. Geography has a hand in that omission, but leaving the best Perth primary schools off our list is not an option. These two public schools are too good to pass up.
Oberthur Primary School
- K-6 school
- digitally integrated
- Mandarin immersion program
- 668 students (346 boys, 322 girls)
- 43 teachers and 32 staff
Caladenia Primary School
- K-6 school
- digitally integrated
- peer mentoring program
- 978 students (502 boys, 478 girls)
- 61 teachers and 28 staff
Both these schools offer the best of what public education represents. Their structured learning programs give teachers the room to explore new ways to engage their students. But then, the best primary schools in Canberra, Sydney, and Brisbane do the same. Especially the public schools.
Concluding Australia's Top-ranked Schools
You may have noted that the top primary schools in Australia are concentrated in three states: NSW, Victoria, and Queensland. Does that mean there are no good primary schools in Adelaide, Tasmania, or the Northern Territory? Certainly not.
Across Australia, we found quality learning centres.
They were full of passionate teachers and thriving pupils.
It simply means that, in a data-driven world, numbers don't tell the whole story. We're happy to rank the best primary schools in Australia, according to the numbers. But, we're happier looking past them, to see what makes these school so great.
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