Student achievement, innovative learning and new pathways into teaching were in focus during Federal Minister for Education the Hon Jason Clare MP's visit to two Sydney Catholic schools.
The Minister visited St Luke's Catholic Primary School Revesby and St Patrick's Catholic Primary School Mortlake meeting with students, teachers and school leaders.
At St Luke's, Mr Clare was joined by Federal Member for Banks Zhi Soon MP and Local Member for East Hills Kylie Wilkinson MP.
The visit highlighted St Luke's focus on building strong literacy foundations while giving students opportunities to discover their strengths and build confidence. Students also demonstrated their involvement in the Amadeus Music Education Program, which provides classroom music lessons, specialist tuition and ensemble experiences for students in Years 3–8 across Sydney Catholic Schools.
'It's particularly good to see kids learning to read and write and count and all of the evidence-based teaching that we know works to teach kids to learn to read phonics," Mr Clare said.
"We got to see it here in action at the school and also small group tutoring. So if your child is falling behind in the classroom, you get into a group with 3-4 other kids and you can learn as much in 6 months as you'd normally learn in 12 months. It's working right here at St Luke's and we want to roll it out across the country."
Later that day, Jason Clare and Federal Member for Reid, Sally Sitou visited St Patrick's Catholic Primary School Mortlake, where they toured the school's modern learning facilities and saw how students are supported through a broad range of innovative educational opportunities.
The Minister also heard about Sydney Catholic Schools' teacher pathway, supporting future educators from secondary school, through university and into the classroom.
Year 12 graduate Charlotte D'Arcy shared her experience as a recipient of the Future Teacher Scholarship, which supports high-achieving students considering a career in teaching.
Charlotte, a 2025 graduate of Bethany College Hurstville, achieved First in Course in the HSC and had her major work selected for SHAPE 2026.
Early career teachers Kai Straub and Sienna Rossi also shared how the Excellence in Initial Teacher Education (ITE) Scholarship, mentoring and employment pathways supported their transition from university study into teaching.
Together, the two visits highlighted a connected commitment across Sydney Catholic Schools to provide students with rich learning opportunities today while developing the outstanding teachers who will support them into the future.
