Sydney Catholic Schools has achieved its best HSC results ever with 11 of its 33 schools ranked among the top 100 high schools in NSW, including Marist Catholic College Penshurst. 

Our school climbed 38 positions to 90th in the media rankings (calculated using the ratio of the number of band 6 results to the number of exams sat by the school).

“These outstanding results have been achieved in only the sixth HSC year at the college,” Ray Martin, Principal of Marist Catholic College Penshurst, said. 

“To achieve these results in such a short space of time is testament to the establishment of a high-achieving learning culture.

“Our college is justifiably proud of not only these achievements, but also the many students successfully engaged in school-based apprenticeships and vocational pathways.”

To cap off an incredible 2021,18 Sydney Catholic Schools ranked among the top 150 high schools and confirmed its reputation as one of the top performing systems of schools in Australia. 

Sydney Catholic Schools’ unprecedented academic success saw its schools reach new heights with the number of distinguished achievers rising from 2486 in 2019 and 2511 in 2020 to 3115 in 2021.

“To the class of 2021, we extend our heartfelt congratulations and admiration,” Sydney Catholic Schools’ Executive Director, Tony Farley, said.

The results follow a series of ground-breaking HSC excellence initiatives that involved all 33 secondary schools meeting to share and analyse HSC performance data, identify key strategies for achieving academic success and find ways to share resources and opportunities across our 33 schools sitting the HSC. 

“Our system-wide approach to excellence means that every student and teacher has access to a huge range of resources and experiences that a large system like ours can provide,” Sydney Catholic Schools Director of Education and Research, Dr Kate O’Brien, said.

Here’s a recap of all our 2021 HSC highlights:

  • 100% – number of subjects above the state average
  • 18.7% – percentage of band 6 results
  • 5 All Rounders – number of students scoring above 90 in at least 10 units
  • 106 Distinguished Achievers – Distinguished Achievers lists the students who achieved a result in the highest band (Band 6 or Band E4) for one or more courses, not including results for courses studied external to their school