What is excellence?

What is excellence? By Joe Wright Principal

Any school can claim to produce excellent outcomes for their students. We see these kinds of claims in marketing campaigns all the time. Such claims are given greater weight and credibility when they are confirmed by objective, independent agencies.

FCAC’s consistently outstanding academic outcomes have been reported widely by a range of local, state and national media throughout the history of our College. Our results are more than empty words from an advertising campaign, they are a matter of public record. Our recent success in the Australian Education Awards where we were bestowed with a National Excellence Award and shortlisted as one of eight schools as a finalist for Australian Regional School of the Year, is another example of external recognition of the standard of education at our College.

In order to receive a National Excellence Award, we first had to demonstrate outstanding academic results. NAPLAN and ATAR results are the best way to do this as all Australian schools are held to the same standard. FCAC’s results are competitive with high performing regional and metropolitan schools from across the country, to which many of our new families can attest. Other areas that are assessed include:

• Student programs • Innovation in teaching and learning • Staff professional development programs • Financial management

Regional schools face unique challenges that those living in metropolitan areas can’t always appreciate. It’s how we meet those challenges that differentiates FCAC from the crowd.

I pay tribute to our dedicated staff, students and parents for their contribution to our community. This success is recognition of our community’s commitment to excellence. You can hear Mr Wright talk about FCAC’s recent nomination as Regional School of the Year by scanning the QR Code.