Sacred Heart Catholic Primary School Villawood has been recognised among the top 20 New South Wales schools for exceptional student progress in literacy and numeracy by the national assessment and curriculum body ACARA.
Helen Vujevic, Principal at Sacred Heart Villawood, said particularly high gains for Year 3 in Numeracy (+17.32%), and Grammar and Punctuation (+14.62%), and for Year 5 in Spelling and Writing (both +13.04%) reflects a collective effort across teaching, leadership, and student support.
In a comparison with statistically similar schools, Sacred Heart’s Year 3 students ranked 1st in reading, grammar and punctuation, and numeracy, and placed in the top five for writing and spelling. Year 5 students also excelled, ranking 1st in numeracy and 2nd in reading and spelling.
“These results reflect the strong culture of learning we’ve built at Sacred Heart, grounded in high expectations, equity and a belief that every student can thrive,” said Principal Helen Vujevic.
“We are a proud and diverse community, and it’s a privilege to work in close partnership with our families and parish to support every child, both in their academic growth and their wellbeing. Our teachers analyse student data at impact meetings, use high-impact explicit instruction, daily reviews and differentiation to ensure every student is supported,” Mrs Vujevic said.
“Our staff engage in professional learning, ongoing coaching, collaborative planning and embedding evidence-based strategies, while adapting programs to meet the needs of all learners, and the results speak for themselves.” Mrs Vuejvic said.
The ‘Schools making a Difference’ list recognises those schools with the highest proportions of students making above-average gains across reading, writing and numeracy in their socio-educational context across a two-year progression between 2023 and 2025.
Danielle Cronin, Executive Director of Sydney Catholic Schools says schools such as Sacred Heart Villawood serve communities with diverse, multicultural backgrounds and varying socio-economic challenges, making their strong NAPLAN growth a particularly impressive achievement.
“Across our schools, staff implement evidence-based teaching, use data to inform learning, provide mentoring and targeted support, and engage families and communities to help every child succeed,” Ms Cronin said.
“These schools are achieving remarkable student growth while supporting communities where most students speak a language other than English at home and many require additional learning support.”
“The ACARA recognition is a powerful endorsement of the quality of our teachers, our inclusive culture and targeted interventions.”
This year, Sydney Catholic Schools’ system-wide NAPLAN results stood out for their targeted approach to supporting students, particularly in low socio-economic communities.