School context
Quirindi High School is a public secondary school located in the town of Quirindi, approximately 60km south of Tamworth and 360km northwest from the centre of Sydney. Quirindi is located in the rural farming area of the Liverpool Plains, home to grain and livestock grazing agriculture, with just over 2,500 residents in town and more in the surrounding areas. Compared to some other public secondary schools in NSW, Quirindi is relatively small, with 400 student enrolments across Years 7 to 12.
The school community has lower levels of socio-educational advantage than average, with 60% of students identified as in the lowest quartile of advantage, compared to a figure of 25% across Australia. A significant proportion of the student community (33%) identifies as Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander, which is well above the NSW public education average of 9.5%. The school is on Kamilaroi country, which extends across the Liverpool Plains area of NSW.
Challenge
As a small outer-regional high school, the community does not have immediate access to many social supports and other educational opportunities that larger towns or metropolitan areas may have. For families in Quirindi to access additional opportunities and services such as galleries, music conservatoriums, specific sporting facilities, combined school opportunities or support services, they face an hour’s drive each way to Tamworth. Additionally, smaller senior secondary student cohorts can create challenges in how a school can offer a broad curriculum with suitable subjects and courses for all students. While system supports such as distance learning programs can help, this sort of challenge is not faced by many schools in metropolitan areas or larger regional centres. These are just some examples of the sorts of equity gaps and challenges faced by many families in outer rural and regional areas.
Actions taken
A collaborative schoolwide focus on classroom practice
The school’s staff has collaboratively developed a strong shared focus on teaching and learning. Through commitment to ongoing professional learning, teacher efficacy and a distributed leadership model, the leadership team was able to strengthen a culture where classroom teaching practice is the primary focus of all teaching staff. More recently, the school has moved its focus onto effective feedback to build on the explicit teaching work of previous years. Quirindi High School also completes a detailed analysis of Higher School Certificate data to create a whole school understanding of where improvement is needed, informing programs for the following year. The school’s focus on effective teaching practices for Years 11 and 12 was implemented consistently across subjects and faculties, supporting a strong rise in student outcomes for the Higher School Certificate.
Student support and engagement programs
While some schools can experience challenges with a smaller student cohort, this has meant that the staff at Quirindi High School have been able to provide more individualised learning spoke and bespoke learning paths for their students. The school introduced an after-school homework centre to support the development of study skills and to help foster a culture of academic excellence. This program is particularly notable given the limited resources in the small town and is an example of the school overcoming challenges of geography to help close the equity gaps that many students in similar situations might face. The school has implemented a strong focus on authentic cultural connection for its Aboriginal students, including meaningful cultural experiences, activities and excursions.
In addition, the school’s senior student mentoring program is supported by a strong pathways and careers planning initiative that helps to set post-school plans and objectives for all students. HSC students meet with their mentors weekly to monitor progress, plan study and focus on what is coming beyond school. The school has also provided an after-school sport program for its students following feedback about a lack of after-school activities and opportunities. Students (16 and older) are also able to access the local sporting centre following a negotiated agreement with the local council. Many students would not be able to afford this without the arrangement.
Outcomes
In 2023, Quirindi High School was identified as one of the most improved secondary schools in NSW for its HSC results. The school demonstrated a 33-percentage point growth in the proportion of students achieving Top 3 band HSC results, with a 28-percentage point growth in Top 2 band HSC results as well. The school received a Secretary’s Commendation Letter in recognition of its consistent dedication to school improvement and the strength of its student outcomes. Additionally, Quirindi High School’s literacy and numeracy NAPLAN mean scale score results are now above the NSW and similar Australian school groups, with continued improvement demonstrated in 2024. The school’s positive outcomes extend beyond the classroom, with high accolades achieved in representative sports and two students selected as featured artists at the NSW Schools Spectacular, the largest school student performance event in the southern hemisphere.
