St George's Anglican Grammar School 2022 Annual Report

Annual Report

Dream Big. Work Hard. Make it Happen.

The Annual Report for 2022 is provided to the community of St George’s Anglican Grammar School with the aim of meeting the requirements of the Schools Education Act 2013 and the School Education Regulations 2014 Subsection H. Assistance Act of 2008. It highlights significant performance indicators, academic results, achievements, and the future direction for St George’s Anglican Grammar School for 2023 and beyond. The information provides a statistical overview of some of the major elements of the School’s daily operations. It articulates and demonstrates the dynamic nature of our school, our ongoing commitment to excellence and our relentless pursuit of our core values of Wisdom, Grace, and Service.

However, such information does not provide a full and accurate summary of the many activities, events and achievements of our staff and students throughout 2022. To this end, we encourage all members of the St George’s Anglican Grammar School Community to refer regularly to our Facebook page and other information contained in the School’s Website to further appreciate the ethos, values and array of diverse offerings available to students at St George’s Anglican Grammar School (St George’s).

Our School History

St George’s Anglican Grammar School is one of 14 schools of the Anglican Schools Commission Inc.

It commenced operation on 1 January 2015 and is a coeducational day school with approximately 470 students across Year 7 – Year 12 in 2022.

We are proud of our Anglican ethos and our holistic approach to educating the many young people in our care.

Our core values of Wisdom, Grace and Service are key to how the School continues to build a caring and connected community for students, parents and staff. These values underpin all that we undertake within the School.

A key focus of the School is on pastoral care. We believe that when students are cared for and feel connected to their School, they then achieve to their academic potential. Each student matters to us, their story is important, their family is important. As educators we seek to find an opportunity for all students to shine and display their brilliance as young people during their time as St George’s students.

The School endeavours to cater for children with a wide range of abilities. This is demonstrated through both our academic extension and learning support programs, which are provided through our Inclusive Education Centre under the direction of our Inclusive Education Coordinator.

Our co-curricular activities are diverse and varied. Our specialised camp programs allow for students to experience an array of activities outside of the classroom to support their ongoing learning and development.

St George’s enrols both local and international students. We have a close and supportive relationship with ASCi who are the international arm of the Anglican Commission Schools and located at 10 William Street.

The St George’s Community continues to be well supported by the ASC Head Office and the network of friendships, collegiality and learning provided through the Anglican Commission Schools.

In 2022 our school theme was ‘Dream Big, Work Hard, Make it Happen’. These lofty ideals helped us to aim high and achieve much throughout the 2022 school year.

Our School Council

The School Council in 2022 was led by Mr Tom Carmody supported by the Deputy Chair, Mrs Anna Heavey.

Mr Winton Willesee continued in the role of Treasurer for the 2022 school year. Other members of School Council for 2022 included Mr Geoff Blades, The Very Reverend Chris Chataway, Mrs Irene Clarke, Ms Antonia Hodby and Mr Michael Jensen.

All members of School Council give generously of both their time and expertise to benefit the further development, growth, success and good governance of the School.

As a School, we thank them for their time, effort and commitment as members of the St George’s School Council.

Our

Students

2022 saw our largest student enrolment numbers in the School’s history.

St George’s is a Year 7 – 12 school with a total student population of 476 students as at the August 2022 census date.

The overall gender balance at this time was 232 male and 244 female students.

Our Staff

All teachers at St George’s are appropriately qualified and registered with the Teacher Registration Board of Western Australia (TRBWA).

St George’s is an Equal Opportunity Employer. When appointing staff, we do not discriminate in regards to gender, racial, sexuality or religious lines. We are a Christian school, but we welcome people of all faiths, as well as people without any form of religious belief. Staff are to be supportive of the Christian ethos and values of the School.

The total staff of St George’s in 2022 comprised of 49 Academic Teaching Staff and 16 Administration and Support Staff.

No staff at this time identified as being of Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander descent.

The average rate of attendance at School by teaching staff in 2022 was 94%.

Three members of academic staff took long service leave during the course of the 2022 school year.

Teaching Staff Qualifications

Staff Professional Learning

In 2022 there was 100% teacher participation in professional learning and development.

The average expenditure per staff member for Professional Learning in the 2022 academic school year was $385.

It should be noted that teaching staff also attended several ASC and AISWA training sessions that are provided to independent school staff free of charge. This is in addition to the variety of school-based professional development sessions delivered within the workplace throughout the year for all St George’s staff.

St George’s supports the need of the individual in providing a range of Professional Learning opportunities. St George’s provides for its staff to access high quality professional learning in the context of professional standards, ongoing registration requirements, Youth Mental Health First Aid, and specific learning linked to each staff member’s career aspirations and professional development needs.

In 2022 the Professional Learning at St George’s took many different forms. As the face of education changed throughout the year, we adapted to the initial limitations, and then easing of restrictions, of an isolated state in a global pandemic, to seek new ways to source professional learning in the difficult climate of cancellations and postponements. Most Semester One Professional Learning opportunities were conducted online, via Zoom and Webex. However, by Semester Two most Professional Development sessions returned to face-to-face conferences and workshops.

A significant focus of Professional Learning in 2022 was related to curriculum matters, pedagogy, and the enhancement of subject-specific expertise for our academic staff. In most Learning Areas, Heads of Learning Area attended New Syllabus Workshops, teaching staff participated in the CEWA and AISWA Network Days, and the ASC Master Class was completed in Maths, Science and HASS Learning Areas for these staff. It was exciting to have teachers forging partnerships with other schools in the development of our curriculum. This included liaising with Sacred Heart College and St Mark’s Anglican Community School in the preparation of the Marine and Maritime General course which is to be introduced to St George’s in 2023.

Learning Areas were also engaged in Professional Learning in the form of conferences. St George’s staff participated in the Business Educators of WA (BEWA) Conference, the Future Science Conference, the virtual Mathematical Association of WA (MAWA) Conference and Curtin University Conference for English Teachers. The opportunity to become a learner in one’s educational field is a significant contributor to the growth and development of staff at St George’s. Several academic staff were also involved in Professional Learning offered through SCSA throughout the year. Registration Professional Learning offerings were also significant in 2022.

All St George’s staff undertook First Aid training, including CPR and Mandatory Reporting Training. Youth Mental Health First Aid and Protective Behaviours courses were also offered to selected staff.

In the domain of Educational Support, the Education Assistants participated in Professional Learning focused of supporting students with ASD. As part of the establishment of the School’s Gifted and Talented Program for 2023, an Educational Support teacher also successfully undertook an accreditation with significant training in this field.

Professional Learning with a future focus, considering contemporary developments in education and their suitability to the St George’s context, led a select group of Middle Leaders and Executive Staff to participate in the AISWA run ‘Success in schooling, New Metrics for Measuring Capabilities’ presentation.

It is significant that Professional Learning opportunities for leaders at St George’s in 2022 inspired reflection beyond the curriculum to consider the ‘big ideas’ motivating a rethink of the approach schools take to reporting.

In a similar vein, the School invested in supporting our new and future leaders through participation in the ASC Aspiring Leaders Network Meetings. Overall, St George’s teaching and teaching support staff were involved in a wide range of professional development and professional learning throughout 2022.

Our Value Add

St George’s takes the view that students’ lives and their potential for successful adulthood are significantly enhanced by the academic programs offered, as well as the comprehensive range of co-curricular activities from which all students select as part of their learning journey within a school.

Our aim is to develop the ‘whole’ child, and this is evident through our diverse co-curricular program, our student mentoring and leadership programs and our guest speaker series as part of our Pastoral and Wellbeing Sessions (PAWS).

We believe wholeheartedly in the importance of a balanced, holistic education for all connected to the School. There are several peer support, mentoring and leadership programs and activities offered across a variety of year groups to support the development of these skills amongst St George’s students.

Our pastoral care programs, tailored specifically for each year group, highlight our belief that school should be a place where adolescents can feel safe, secure, and connected. They equally seek to provide all students with the opportunity to build their resilience, growth mindset, confidence, and self-esteem.

Alongside the ongoing sporting, drama, music, service-learning and outdoor education opportunities offered in 2022 there were also a number of national and local competitions run across multiple subject areas, excursions to a wide range of local destinations in an effort to bring the curriculum to life, charity days and fundraising opportunities for a wide range of organisations including the World’s Greatest Shave for leukemia and the Push Up Challenge which raises awareness of mental health issues and suicide in young people. Our Anglicare Ambassadors continued to work with Anglicare to support a broad range of initiatives including the Optus Stadium Sleepout for the homeless.

Our very own Legendary Learners saw The Laurence Library open after school till 7pm, with academic support provided for our senior students in the lead up to their examination period.

Our students celebrated NAIDOC Week with a smoking ceremony and Welcome to Country led by an Aboriginal elder.

Community Satisfaction

Whilst the impact of COVID restrictions meant that some of our normal social occasions could not occur we were lucky to be able to continue with our face-to-face Parent Teacher Evenings throughout the year.

Communication with our St George’s families is key to all that we undertake. We endeavour to communicate regularly with our parent body though the fortnightly newsletter, our frequent social media posts, Semester reporting and a wide range of information evenings and events.

One of the indicators of community satisfaction is expressed by student and staff retention rates.

The average student retention rate in 2022 was 95%.

The percentage of teaching staff retained in 2022 was 92%.

In 2022, St George’s conducted a detailed survey of all students and parents. These were managed through School Survey, a data collection tool designed specifically for Australian schools. The responses allows the School to look at what is working well, what could work better and what new things we might need to implement promptly over the coming years to improve the experiences of all connected with St George’s.

Supportive relationships between staff, parents, guardians, carers and students are seen as integral to the successful schooling journey here at of St George’s.

Notes for the following tables:

• Responses were recorded on a 5-point Likert Scale: 5 - Strongly Agree, 4 - Agree, 3 - Neutral, 2 - Disagree, 1 - Strongly Disagree

• Satisfaction Scale: 1 = Low, 5= High

Parent Survey Results

Student Survey Results

Net Promoter Score

The NPS by St George’s parents was 35.8. The national average for all secondary schools is 20.

Student Outcomes Attendance

In 2022 the average attendance rates for each year group were as follows:

These attendance percentages reflect an increase from the 2021 attendance data and support the processes and procedures already in place to support students and their families for whom school attendance is challenging and/or difficult.

The lower-than-average attendance rate percentage for the Year 12 cohort was partially due to a number of students suffering from a range of long term health-related issues and/or concerns necessitating them to spend an extended time away from school to support their mental and/or physical wellbeing on the recommendations of a GP and/ or psychologist.

The percentage attendance rates of all year groups were impacted by the various COVID requirements and regulations in 2022 where students needed to stay at home for up to 10 days at different times of the year either because of them testing COVID positive or through them being identified as a close contact of a COVID positive case.

Research confirms a strong link between regular attendance at school and positive student outcomes both socially and academically.

The expectations of an average 90% attendance rate for all year groups continues to be promoted by St George’s in working alongside all students and their families.

Management of Attendance

The School manages all student attendance via SEQTA, our learning management platform. Attendance is recorded every lesson by academic staff and followed up by the students respective Pastoral Care Group (PCG) Tutor, Head of House and ultimately the Head of Pastoral as required.

If a student is absent from school without prior notification from their parents/guardians and/or carers then an SMS is sent to the parent/guardian and/or carer advising them of the student’s absence and asking them to contact the School at the earliest opportunity.

If there is no response to the SMS, a follow up telephone call is made requesting an explanation for the absence before the end of the school day. A message is left if there is no response to this phone call.

Weekly attendance records are forwarded to the PCG Tutor who then follows up with the student and their family regarding any frequent or unexplained absence.

Frequent and/or regular absences are followed up by the Head of House for more detailed monitoring and management.

The Head of Pastoral liaises with both staff, students and families for any longer term absences due to prolonged illnesses or other significant issues or concerns.

The Head of Pastoral manages the attendance recovery plan with families should this be needed at any stage of a student’s educational journey at St George’s.

Management of Non-Attendance

When the attendance of any student falls below 90 per cent over the course of a term, the Head of House will:

• Further investigate the reasons for the student’s absence to seek clarification from the parent/guardian and/or carer.

• Report the matter to the Head of Pastoral if the outcome of this contact cannot be satisfactorily managed for the benefit of both the School and the student or the absenteeism is likely to be long term and this is likely to require further action.

• Organise a parent teacher meeting and/or a case conference to begin an action plan for improved attendance including potentially producing an attendance recovery plan which would be managed by the Head of Pastoral.

Persistent Non-Attendance

In the case of persistent non-attendance, the Head of Pastoral and/or Principal may

• Request a formal meeting with the parents/guardians and/or carers as well as work with the student individually.

• Consult the West Australian Education Department for local students or the Anglican Schools Commission International for International students to alert them to any student whose attendance is seen to be ‘at risk’ or without reason.

• Continue to revise any attendance improvement plan to assist with a gradual improvement towards a return to full attendance over the course of the term, semester or year.

• In managing all such attendance plans the health and wellbeing of the student remains the priority and the Head of Pastoral will work closely with the relevant medical personnel to support the student to return to school as promptly as possible depending on their specific needs.

Student Outcomes NAPLAN

The National Assessment Program Literacy and Numeracy (NAPLAN) is an annual assessment for students in Years 3, 5, 7 and 9 across Australia.

NAPLAN tests four areas of learning including Reading, Writing, Language Conventions (spelling, grammar, punctuation) and Numeracy.

It is important to note that the skills tested by NAPLAN frequently develop over time. NAPLAN data provides the School and the School Community with an overall snapshot of how the student body is progressing at one particular moment in time. As there are students of differing learning abilities in each year group cohort, NAPLAN results will inevitably vary each year.

Year 7 and Year 9 NAPLAN

The results for St George’s are above the National and State averages in all areas that were tested.

Year 7 data shows a particularly strong performance in the Reading assessment.

Year 9 data shows a particularly strong performance in the Reading, Writing and Grammar assessment.

WACE Literacy and Numeracy Achievement

To achieve a West Australian Certificate of Education (WACE), students need to demonstrate a minimum standard of Literacy and Numeracy. Students who achieve a Band 8 or above in their Year 9 NAPLAN Reading, Writing and Numeracy tests will be considered to have demonstrated the standard for that component and are thus not required to complete an OLNA assessment (Online Literacy and Numeracy Assessment)

Student Outcomes OLNA

OLNA only exists within Western Australia. Many of our students complete these requirements prior to the end of Year 9 due to their high-level NAPLAN scores.

For those students needing to undertake OLNA in Years 10 – 12, they are given additional 1:1 support to assist them to find success in their OLNA. This support is provided through the school’s dedicated OLNA Coordinator.

2022 OLNA Cohort Pass Rates

The Online Literacy and Numeracy Assessment (OLNA) is designed to enable students to successfully meet the WACE requirement of demonstrating the minimum standard of literacy and numeracy expected of all Year 12 graduates within Western Australia.

Student Outcomes Year 12 Results

St George’s can be immensely proud of the efforts of its 2022 Year 12 students.

Of the school’s 85 Year 12 students, 79 completed the Western Australian Certificate of Education (WACE) and 6 completed the Western Australian Universities Foundations Program (WAUFP).

In 2022, 94% of eligible students achieved their Western Australian Certificate of Education (WACE). Students who did not achieve WACE had not demonstrated the required literacy and/or numeracy standard required through the successful completion of OLNA.

40 of our Class of 2022 undertook an ATAR pathway.

The median ATAR score achieved by St George’s Anglican Grammar School students across both WAUFP and WACE ATAR was 80.28

Our highest WAUFP ATAR was 99.40 and our highest WACE ATAR was 97.20.

A Certificate of Distinction is awarded to each eligible student who, in their last three consecutive years of secondary WACE enrolment, achieves between 190 and 200 points linked to their final course grades. The following students from St George’s achieved a Certificate of Distinction in 2022 – Saira Afridi, Isabella Daniels, Holly Dear, Tzu-Hsun Liu. As a School our focus is to counsel our students into the best possible pathway for their post school success. This is dependent on a variety of factors including their demonstrated academic capacity and their future aspirations. Achieving an ATAR is currently only one pathway through which students may successfully enter the university of their choice should university be their preferred goal post school.

St George’s has invested in a range of APEx and other opportunities for our students to provide them with the knowledge and understanding of the multiple alternate pathways commensurate with their abilities and interests.

In addition to our ATAR results in 2022, 22 students achieved an Australian Qualification Framework VET Certificate II or higher. A variety of certificate qualifications were achieved including Certificate IV in Community Services, Certificate IV in Preparation for Health and Nursing Studies, Certificate IV in Business, Certificate III in Music, Certificate II in Retail Cosmetics and Certificate II in Applied Fashion Design and Technology.

18 students completed the Murdoch FlexiTrack High Program and 3 students completed the Curtin UniReady Program. The successful completion of both of these programs allows students a direct entry into university.

13% of our Year 12 cohort also achieved completion of a recognised Endorsed Program via the School Curriculum and Standards Authority (SCSA) in Workplace Learning, Community Service and Elite Sports Performance.

Post School Destinations

The following tables show the post-school destinations of the St George’s Class of 2022. Most of our students will continue their studies at university in 2023. The diverse nature of our student population here at St George’s means that our student population often leave our care into a range of universities both within Western Australia, Interstate and Overseas. With the ability to travel being back on the agenda post the restrictions of the COVID-19 pandemic, several of our students selected to take a ‘GAP’ year in 2023.

The statistics speak for themselves in evidencing a student body who have pursued a purposeful journey beyond school in a broad range of further education, employment, apprenticeships, advanced training, and travel opportunities.

Table 1: Post School Destinations (No. Students = 85)

Table 2: Post School Destinations for University (No. Students = 61)

School FUNDING

CONCLUSION

In the third year of the pandemic, we responded in a timely and effective manner to all WA Government and Health Department requirements and directives. Our priorities were to continually maintain a safe environment for staff and students alike, as well as to uphold our strong academic and pastoral care programs.

Many new families joined the school community throughout 2022. This continued a phase of strong enrolment growth.

There has been a great deal of work happening behind the scenes between the School and Hassel Architects regarding the School’s eventual move to 441 Murray Street. Formal plans for this are now with the City of Perth and the School will begin to use this building for mainstream classes from 2025 with a full relocation occurring in 2029 for the commencement of the 2030 academic shool year.

We are very proud of the academic achievements of the Class of 2022. Our excellent student and staff attendance and retention rates, together with the positive NPS from our wide-ranging parent and student surveys reflect the high quality of our teaching and learning, curricular and co-curricular programs.

We have high standards and expectations for students and staff and we continue to work hard to achieve these.

We are proud of all that we have achieved as the only vertical high school in the City of Perth and we continue to pursue the trade mark of interacting positively with all within the CBD, seeing the city as part of our growing and evolving campus.

The 2023 School Theme of ‘Let’s GROW Together’ with a focus on Gratitude, Resilience, Optimism and Welcoming across the four terms of 2023, clearly sets the next stage of our journey working together positively for the future of all connected with St George’s Anglican Grammar School.

As a School we continue to be proud of the many fine achievements and accomplishments of all connected with St George’s.