Four Sydney Catholic schools in south-western Sydney are celebrating a major achievement, earning a place among the top 20 NSW schools for outstanding student growth in literacy and numeracy.
Sacred Heart Catholic Primary School, Cabramatta; St Felix Catholic Primary School, Bankstown; Sacred Heart Catholic Primary School, Villawood and Immaculate Heart of Mary Catholic Primary School, Sefton have all been recognised by the national curriculum authority ACARA on their ‘Schools Making a Difference’ list.
This list recognises schools with the highest proportions of students making above-average gains across reading, writing and numeracy in their socio-educational context, measured across a two-year progression between 2023 and 2025.
For these four schools, the achievement is particularly significant. Each serves a community with diverse, multicultural backgrounds and varying challenges, making their strong NAPLAN growth all the more impressive, says Danielle Cronin, Executive Director of Sydney Catholic Schools.
“Across our schools, staff implement evidence-based teaching, use data to inform learning, provide mentoring and targeted support, and engage families and communities to help every child succeed,” Ms Cronin said.
“These schools are achieving remarkable student growth while supporting communities where most students speak a language other than English at home and many require additional learning support.”
“The ACARA recognition is a powerful endorsement of the quality of our teachers, our inclusive culture and targeted interventions.”
The newly released student progress data provides a fairer measure of school performance by showing how much the same students at the same school have improved since their previous NAPLAN assessment, taking into account each school’s unique circumstances and socio-educational context.
For example at Sacred Heart Catholic Primary School in Cabramatta, where 99 per cent of students come from a language background other than English (LBOTE), the numbers tell a compelling story of growth. The school achieved particularly high gains in Numeracy (+41.4%), Writing (+14.9%) and Spelling (+9.2%).
Principal Julie Straub credits the school’s specialised curriculum and enrichment programs for these outstanding results.
“By focusing on strategies like our Maths Academy for gifted students, tiered English and Maths interventions, and a strong culture of celebrating growth and effort, we ensure every child is both challenged and supported,” she said.
“Strong partnerships with families, the broader community and wellbeing initiatives enhance inclusion, confidence, and a love of learning.”
The recognition reflects a broader trend across Sydney Catholic Schools, where system-wide NAPLAN results have stood out for their targeted approach to supporting students, particularly in low socio-economic communities.
