H R S S TAT U TO RY R E P O R T 2 0 2 1
Principal’s introduction In 2021 Haileybury Rendall School (HRS) completed its fourth year of operation and made significant progress. The influence of the COVID-19 pandemic continued to be felt worldwide, but the Northern Territory was lucky to escape the major impact felt in other parts of Australia. In fact, the School was only required to go into three days of Home Learning during lockdown and managed to remain open and operate normally for the rest of the year. Enrolments at HRS have continued to grow steadily with the School starting the year with 780 students including over 70 boarders. This was a significant increase on the previous years enrolment. The growth in enrolments was predominantly in the Junior School and Year 7 meaning that HRS will continue to see numbers increase as these groups move through the School. The key goals of the School were to further academic excellence, develop student wellbeing at all year levels and enhance our standing as a recognised Centre for Excellence in Indigenous Education. Staff development and opportunity remained a high priority. A growth in academic results was shown in Australian Council for Educational Research (ACER) Progressive Achievement Test (PAT) testing and National Assessment Program Literacy and Numeracy (NAPLAN) 2021 online testing. It was great to see an improvement in all NAPLAN measures from 2019 to 2021, remembering that NAPLAN was cancelled in 2020. Our Indigenous students from remote communities showed steep academic growth in numeracy and literacy from Years 7–12 with some students
completing four years growth within the year in aspects of their learning. The VCE results were again a highlight in 2021. In 2020, 38% of Year 12 students achieved an ATAR of 90 or above, with our top two students placing second and third across the entire Northern Territory. In 2021, 20% of our Year 12 VCE students achieved an ATAR over 95 and our Dux was again placed second in the Northern Territory. Our median ATAR moved above 80 for the first time. These results were a strong endorsement of the academic culture in the School, the work ethic of the students and the dedication and quality of our teachers. In 2021, extensive Listen, Evaluate, Act, Deliver (LEAD) surveys were conducted across staff, students and parents and these showed a broad improvement in perceptions of the School’s performance since the previous surveys conducted in 2019. Whilst this was pleasing, the surveys also helpfully identified areas that require further development. Haileybury Rendall School continues to establish its reputation in Darwin as it seeks to be regarded as the best school in Northern Australia. The local community has endorsed our progress with a rapid increase in enrolments that supports our goals and aspirations. The School is determined to continue to develop, improve and provide a world class education for students in and out of the classroom.
Mr Andrew McGregor Principal
5
