St Margaret’s Anglican Girls School is once again proving its mettle, appearing as one of the finalists in three different categories of the prestigious Australian Education Awards 2020.
The elite Ascot school has made it to the finals for Best STEM Program and has made a repeat appearance in the roster of finalists for Boarding School of the Year, which it won in 2019.
Photo Credit: Facebook/St Margaret’s Anglican Girls School
Its popular principal, Ros Curtis, is also a finalist for Principal of the Year (non-government category) for the second consecutive year.
Photo Credit: Facebook/St Margaret’s Anglican Girls School
St Margaret’s has annually flexed its academic muscles as it proves itself to be one of Queenslands top schools. From 2017 to 2019, the school has placed within the Top 15 schools in the state across all four NAPLAN categories (Years 3, 5, 7, and 9). Its students topped the Year 3 category of the 2019 NAPLAN in Queensland, no mean feat indeed.
The school has also been given Innovative School awards for 2018 and 2019, for its leading academic advising program and for a program called St Margaret’s Plus, created to recognise and develop students’ skills beyond just the normal academic assessment track.
“To be a finalist in three categories truly speaks to the good work being done by all members of staff, as well as the contribution the girls and their families make to the overall fabric of the school,” Principal Curtis said.
The winners will be announced on the 6th of November at a gala awards ceremony in Sydney.
The Preliminary Results of NAPLAN 2019 has been released and St Margaret’s Anglican Girls School came out as the top Primary School in Queensland.
As in the past, St Margaret’s Anglican Girls School performed very well in the 2019 NAPLAN testing. The Ascot-based day and boarding school for girls topped the best performing Qld primary schools list, followed by Rainworth State School in Bardon and Ashgrove State School in Ashgrove.
All students in Australian schools who are in Years 3, 5, 7, and 9 participate in the NAPLAN testing in May of each year. The National Assessment Program – Literacy and Numeracy (NAPLAN) assesses the students’ skills in reading, writing, spelling, grammar and punctuation, and numeracy.
Naplan is an important tool for the schools the parents to assess the child’s progress and identify opportunities for improvement in areas of literacy and numeracy.
Source: NAPLAN 2019 data from Queensland Curriculum and Assessment Authority
Underscoring the 2019 Preliminary NAPLAN Writing Results
ACARA noted that NAPLAN results in writing for 2019 have revealed a “pleasing improvement” from last year, especially that there was a noticeable decline in recent years across all year levels.
“Schools have been making focused efforts for some time to address concerns about their students’ writing. Students are to be congratulated for this year’s improvement, especially Year 3 students, where the results are particularly encouraging,” ACARA CEO David de Carvalho said.
Photo credit: State of Queensland (Queensland Curriculum and Assessment Authority) / qcaa.qld.edu.au
Despite the improvement in writing results, comparison of performance in writing by state and territory reveals that Queensland Year 9 students are the second least performing, just a step above the Northern Territory students, with only 77.6 percent of the cohorts meeting or above the national minimum standard. The Qld average is 5.3 percentage points lower than the national average of 82.9 percent.
Moreover, the percentage of Qld students at or above the NMS in Years 3, 5, and 7 also fell below the national average, with the gap increasing with each year.
NAPLAN 2019 achievement of Qld and Australia Year 3,5, and 7 students in writing:
Qld Year 3 – 96.3%, Aust – 96.9% – difference 0.6
Qld Year 5 – 91.2%, Aust – 93.1% – difference 1.9
Qld Year 7 – 86.8%, Aust – 89.8% – difference 3.0
Qld Year 9 – 77.6%, Aust – 82.9% – difference 5.3
Still, Education Minister Grace Grace lauded the preliminary results, stating that Queensland students continue to perform well in many key areas.
“This year’s results continue to confirm Queensland as one of the most improved states since testing began in 2008,” Ms Grace said.
“It is great to see our students improving in 17 of 20 NAPLAN test areas against National Minimum Standard, Mean Scale Score and Upper two Bands.”
“After more than 10 years, it’s time for a comprehensive national review of NAPLAN to ensure it remains current and responsive to changes in education,” she said.
“Queensland is still proud to be the star performer when it comes to NAPLAN.”
As part of their annual school rankings, Better Education Australia recently announced that St Margaret’s Anglican Girls School is one of the top primary schools in Brisbane for 2018, with a State Overall Score of 100.
Better Education ranks schools according to their academic performance index every year. The rankings from their website are great references for the top performing schools in Brisbane as well as the entire state. The Better Education school rankings page also allows people to compare schools and check the trend of their rankings over the years.
For the primary schools, the ranking was mainly based on information from the NAPLAN or National Assessment Program – Literacy and Numeracy test results. Although the site lists several schools, not all primary schools in Queensland are being compared on the website.
Better Education’s List of Top Primary Schools in Brisbane for 2018
Better Education compared a total of 150 primary schools in Brisbane for 2018. Out of these schools, eleven were able to get a State Overall Score of 100. The primary schools that got the highest score include six state schools and five private schools.
Top Private Primary Schools in Brisbane – 2018. Photo credit: Better Education Australia
St Margaret’s Anglican Girls School score trend from 2012-2018. Photo credit: Better Education Australia
In the past few years, St Margaret’s Anglican Girls School was able to stay on top of the rankings. The tables above show the school’s performance from 2012 to 2018.
Even though Better Education enlists many schools in Queensland, the Department of Education is not endorsing their school rankings. However, these rankings can still serve as a guide for parents or for anyone who is looking for the best possible schools across the state.
Better Education’s rankings for primary schools are mainly based on NAPLAN test results. There are still other factors to consider when identifying the best schools throughout Queensland. Parents are still encouraged to do more research about a school before deciding which one is the best fit for their children.
A class of Year 9 students in St Margaret’s Anglican Girls School in Ascot designed, built, and programmed a 3D printed prosthetic hand. The said project is conducted as part of the school’s commitment to hands-on approach towards STEM learning for students.
The students involved in the project have performed biological dissection of the anatomy of the arm and hand, designed it using 3D software, and learnt about circuit design and computer coding. By the end of the year, they look forward to have the hand programmed to grasp and pick up an object.
Meanwhile, year 11 boarder Rhiannon Revell-Blair has been named City North New’s Junior Individual Sports Start at the recent Quest Local Sports Stars awards night held in Queensland Cricketer’s Club, The Gabba. She is currently awaiting the official decision on whether she will be included in the Australian Women’s Rugby Sevens squad that will be undergoing training in New Zealand. She will be the co-captain of the St Margaret’s touch football team in 2018.
St Margaret’s Anglican Girls School in Ascot is an independent boarding school. It welcomes students from pre-preparatory level to Year 12. The school only accepts boys in pre-prep and prep.
Students listening to a lecture Credit: St Margaret’s Anglican Girls’ School Facebook
Early this month, the school has introduced the basic of computer coding for its prep students as part of its focus on STEM education. Prep students use basic animation software in computer activities which are included in a weekly in-class programme on coding.
The school currently has 879 students of which 260 are primary students and 610 are girls in the secondary school. The boarding house has 170 boarders from Years 5 to 12.
Aside from its pastoral environment, St Margaret’s Anglican Girls School has always been known for its focus on academic excellence, quality learning, and teaching. The school also takes pride in providing their students with a well-rounded exposure to experiences in and out of school that will help them gain a broad perspective of the world outside the school walls.
