The 101-year-old public school in Sydney's Botanic Gardens is academically and musically selective,with students having to sit both the state-wide selective schools test and pass an audition to secure a place. Last year,there were 21 HSC students at the Conservatorium High. This year,there were 34.
Principal Robert Curry said he was"tickled pink"about the school's results. But when highly musical,deeply engaged students came together to share their passion,they were bound to do well."There has to be,pure and simple,the sheer delight of doing what you do,"he said.
"The sorts of things that give one pleasure in music,there's a whole cognitive intellectual part of it. That gels very nicely with taking a creative approach to teaching other disciplines which stimulate the mind."
But when the class group was small,as it was at the Conservatorium,"stats bounce around ridiculously,"Dr Curry said."For that reason,we should all keep a level head."
Of the top 50 schools this year,19 were government selective schools,and the rest were independent. There were 23 all girls'schools,18 co-ed schools,and nine boys'schools.
The top systemic Catholic schools were Brigidine College in Randwick,St Ursula's College in Kingsgrove (66th),Bethany College in Hurstville (72nd),and St Mary's Cathedral School in the city (82nd).
The highest-placed non-selective government schools were Willoughby Girls,Northern Beaches Secondary College Balgowlah Boys Campus (70th),Killarney Heights High School (79th) and Cheltenham Girls'High (80th).
The principal of Willoughby Girls High,Elizabeth Diprose,said staff were"all very proud"of the students."They've worked very hard,"she said.
"One of the really exciting things was this is the first year that a number of new syllabuses were examined,all of the science[subjects],and all of the English,which was quite a shift. So teachers are really excited that they did the right thing by the girls,the way they programmed and taught the course."
Consistent improvers in the top 50 include Meriden School in Strathfield,which has climbed from 22nd in 2016 to 14th this year,and St Catherine's School in Waverley,which has jumped from 45th to 17th over the same period.
Al Faisal College,an Islamic school with three western Sydney campuses,has continued its rise. It was outside the top 100 in 2014,but this year finished 23rd in the state,becoming one of the few schools to break into the HSC top 50.
"There's no secrets,just hard work,"said deputy principal Peter Rompies."Where possible,especially with year 12,daily feedback,that's a big one for us. Completing as many practice papers as possible. Self-reflection,learning from mistakes."
Loreto Kirribilli,Loreto Normanhurst and Cranbrook have also improved over the past four years,while St Luke's Grammar rose from 57th in 2016 to 28th this year.
Outside the top 50,consistent improvers included Killarney Heights High,which grew from 146th to 79th;St Ives High,which climbed from 159th to 86th;and St Euphemia College,a Greek Orthodox school in Bankstown,which rose from 202nd four years ago to 94th this year.
Other schools showing consistent improvement from 2016 to this year include Mount Annan Christian College,Springwood High School,and St Mark's Coptic Orthodox College.
Across all schools,girls dominated Visual Arts,English Extension,Legal Studies and Biology,while boys achieved the greatest proportion of high scores in the hardest three maths subjects,chemistry and physics.
The cut-off to make the top-10 schools list rose above a 50 per cent success rate in 2019,well above the 45 per cent rate to make the top 10 last year.
The proportion of higher marks needed to crack the top 10 has been rising steadily since 2010.
To make this year's cut-off,a school needed a success rate (the number of band 6s/E4s as a percentage of entries) of 51.45 per cent. Last year the cut off for the top 10 was 45.17 per cent,down from the 48.94 per cent needed in 2016.
When private schools have large numbers of students sitting the International Baccalaureate Diploma rather than the HSC,their ranking can be affected.
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