The results of the 2019 NAPLAN test published today reveal Somerville House students have once again achieved significantly above the state average for Years 3, 5, 7 and 9. Building on already outstanding 2018 results, the 2019 outcomes saw Somerville House move up the ranks, placing seventh in the top ten primary schools in Queensland, and thirteenth in the top twenty secondary schools. The results also indicated Somerville House students performed substantially above the state average across the five key areas of Reading, Writing, Spelling, Grammar and Numeracy. 

Principal, Mrs Kim Kiepe says she is pleased with the results and is encouraged at how they show growth to prepare them with solid literacy and numeracy foundations to meet the demands of their QCE (Queensland Certificate of Education) studies when they are in Year 11 and 12.

“We are very proud of our Years 3, 5, 7 and 9 students who consistently achieve strong results in NAPLAN testing,” Mrs Kiepe said. 

“Our students continue to display an enthusiasm for learning and a desire to perform to the best of their academic abilities,” she said. 

“These results are an encouraging indicator of the success of the strategies and programs put in place to optimise our students’ learning outcomes.” 

At the beginning of 2019, the School appointed four Curriculum Co-ordinators in key learning areas of Middle School English, Science, Maths and Social Science, and an Assistant Dean of Literacy Learning and Development. These key staff members have been working behind the scenes, with academic staff, tailoring and revising educational programs to support individual student needs. 

However, Mrs Kiepe believes NAPLAN testing is only one part of a student’s overall schooling journey and does not look at transferable enterprise or ‘soft’ skills needed for 21st century capability. 

“While NAPLAN testing is an indication of a snapshot of a student’s literacy and numeracy at a point in time, it does not show the overall individual profile of a student, including her social or emotional intelligence, which are important skills in this technological age,” Mrs Kiepe said. 

“Somerville House not only prides itself on its strong academic outcomes, but in fostering our girls’ transferable enterprise skills through a focus on technology and our ongoing spiritual and emotional wellbeing programs,” she said.  

“Our curriculum framework strives to empower students to be confident, critical thinkers who can initiate ideas, that change positively the way they think and perceive themselves, others and the world around them.”

“Our ultimate aim is to nurture students into well-rounded, knowledgeable global citizens, to enable them to chart successful futures in the rapidly changing world they will enter upon graduating.”

To read more about how Somerville House is preparing students for the future workforce, please click here.