By Tony Farley
Executive Director of Sydney Catholic Schools

Large-scale collaboration, a driving commitment to educational excellence, and emphasis on personal and academic growth has cemented Sydney Catholic Schools’ reputation as one of the top performing school systems in Australia.

At Sydney Catholic Schools we provide close to 73,000 students across 147 primary, secondary and K-12 schools in the Archdiocese of Sydney with a comprehensive, high-quality and affordable Catholic education.

Our schools cater for a diverse student population with a school curriculum that builds core literacy, numeracy, STEM, language, vocational and entrepreneurial skills.

Equity and excellence are guiding principles for the myriad sport, creative and performing arts, faith, social outreach and leadership opportunities they offer.

“Our mission at Sydney Catholic Schools is simple yet profound: to know and love Christ through learning.” – Tony Farley

Sydney Catholic Schools’ students consistently perform strongly in NAPLAN and the HSC, a product of high expectations, excellent teaching and strong pastoral care.

In the 2022 HSC, nine SCS schools ranked in the top 100 with more than half of our secondary schools ranked in the top 150. Add 2,630 distinguished achievers into the mix and it is fair to say we are very proud of the dedication of students and staff and the supportive, faith-filled environment that leads them to such outstanding achievements.

These successes are built on a system-wide approach to curriculum that enables our schools to share expertise, scale best practice, and access strategies to maximise learning growth through our dedicated Education and Research team.

This approach ensures a focus on meaningful data, key metrics and ambitious goal setting for students that is essential to their academic success.

“Our teachers are committed to nurture all students’ natural curiosity and give them every opportunity to thrive.”

A cross-disciplinary approach to the learning and application of Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) helps students develop the ability to solve real-world problems and to examine these through a critical lens.

Sydney Catholic Schools’ rigorous Newman Selective Gifted Education Program supports gifted learners, while Vocational Education and Training (VET) program provides valuable opportunities for secondary school students to gain practical skills and nationally-recognised qualifications through school-based traineeships across a large range of industries.

Last year alone, more than 1,300 students attained a National Qualification Certificate I, II or III and six of these students placed in the HSC Top Achievers list.

At Sydney Catholic Schools, sport is not just for the elite athlete. The system provides an inclusive variety of sports for students of all ages and abilities in both competitive and non-competitive settings.

Parents, students and teachers at Sydney Catholic schools are also seeing the many research-supported benefits of learning an orchestral instrument as part of the groundbreaking Amadeus Music Education Program.

The program is embedded in the school curriculum for the 33,000 students in Year 3 to 8 across our 147 schools. They are tutored by professionals who have performance experience in orchestras and ensembles around the world.

Our mission at Sydney Catholic Schools is simple yet profound: to know and love Christ through learning. Our welcoming communities are staffed by dynamic and caring teachers who ensure that every child is able to embrace and explore their unique potential.