St Paul’s School named as a finalist for Secondary School of the Year (Non-Government)

St Paul’s School’s pioneering approach to education has again been recognised with the School being named as a finalist for the Secondary School of the Year at the National Education Awards.

Why St Paul’s School was named a finalist

Headmaster Dr Paul Browning said the recognition was an endorsement of the School’s approach to education. “Our aim is to provide students with an education worth having – one that builds resilient global citizens who are innovative thinkers with a heart for servant leadership,” Dr Browning said. “We are always thankful to judges of awards who understand St Paul’s approach to education. Our students have embraced the importance of innovation and creativity in their learning.

What makes St Paul’s School unique

Over the past 12 years, St Paul’s School has created and developed Realms of Thinking as a bespoke teaching and learning program that has transformed the creative and innovative capacities of students. This is complemented by a bespoke student wellbeing program called Ways of Being. This framework acknowledges that St Paul’s School sees students as whole people – individuals with a heart and soul, as well as a mind.

St Paul’s has embarked on a research partnership with the University of Melbourne to develop an assessment framework to gauge students’ capacity to think creatively. Once this partnership has been completed, students graduating from St Paul’s School will be issued with a warranted credential from the University of Melbourne, endorsing their engagement with Realms of Thinking. This credential could be used as an alternative entry to university or for employment.

Academic excellence at St Paul’s

Academic excellence has flourished. NAPLAN scores in all year levels far exceeded State and National benchmarks. Year 12 ATAR results from 2022 were exceptional given the past three years of disrupted schooling. Over 90 per cent of the School’s Year 12 students achieved an ATAR with 26 per cent of those students scoring 90 or above. St Paul’s pioneers a holistic approach to academic success, ensuring any student who wishes to pursue an ATAR score may do so, regardless of where they will place in rankings.

Students also performed strongly in their vocational approaches, with 24 completing a Cert III in Fitness, 17 students completing a Cert III in Music Tech and eight students completing a Cert III in Entrepreneurship through the School’s Centre for Innovators and Entrepreneurs.

St Paul’s School’s recognition

St Paul’s School is regularly sought by media for comments, including the ABC TV’s 7:30 program, ABC Radio, the Australian Financial Review, and on international television shows including TRT World in Turkey and London.

The Awards, run by The Educator magazine, have previously recognised St Paul’s School.

In 2019, St Paul’s was named Australian School of the Year and the Australian Primary School of the Year (non-government) as judges praised the benefits of the Realms of Thinking approach to learning.

In 2018, St Paul’s took out the School Principal of the Year (non-government) award along with separate national prizes for Best Innovation in Curriculum Design, Best School Strategic Plan and Best Professional Learning Program.

You can view more details about the National Education Awards here.

“Not every child is an entrepreneur. But every child can learn how to think like one.”

Dr Paul Browning, St Paul’s School Headmaster

Will your child be ready for the world of the future? Find out what an education worth having looks like by learning more about St Paul’s today.

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