St Andrew's Grammar

Dear Parents,

Tuesday, we farewelled your wonderful children.  As a result, I wanted to write to you as we reflect on what has been an amazing year for the school. 2023 has been a year of tremendous success for a school quickly making a name for itself in so many areas.  

Looking back, I can share that we have achieved so very much and wanted to share the following:

Academically

We have achieved our best-ever NAPLAN results by quite some margin.  There are 20 data points.  From these 20 data points for the first time in the school’s history we achieved more than State and National averages across EVERY measure.      These results illustrate the wonderful work that our teachers and students do together. Our staff are more than just teachers, our teachers genuinely know each child which shows in these wonderful results.   These results are even more incredible when you acknowledge that nearly 90% of our multi-cultural student body have English as a second or third language. I wish to thank our outstanding team of staff for their efforts in facilitating these amazing results.   In WACE we also achieved well in 2022.  Our cohort had an average ATAR of 82.4, this group of students thoroughly deserved our congratulations.    In 2023, we won the IPSHA Academic Challenge which pitted our best against the very best academics across all Perth Independent Schools.   Fantastically we won this for the second year in a row.  I know our entire school community is understandably proud of these academic results as I am. 

 Our Special Character

The foundation of the school with its promotion of Hellenism and Orthodox Christian values remains strong.   2023 has seen great advances in this regard with the completion of two specialist primary Greek classrooms; the alignment work that is happening across primary and secondary Greek and Orthodox Studies to ensure the transitions are well managed and we have a consistent and up-to-date delivery and the streaming of Greek classes where we teach those who are advanced in Greek language are taught as a separate yet smaller class to accelerate their Greek.   

Our Campus Development Plans

We celebrate our growing school through ensuring significant facilities upgrades. In 2023 we have created two Greek classrooms; we have upgraded our Pre-Primary playground and tricycle track; we have upgraded our security (alarms, cameras and lighting); we have improved our Kiss and Drive Hellenic Drive carpark; we have upgrade of Palassis toilets and created a fully developed maintenance programme which had been outstanding for many years. 

There are many significant future campus developments which have been signed off by the School Board and SAG INC (Hellenic Community of WA). With a new Primary Administrative and Pre-KG block being completed by July 2024; a Science and technology Block being completed in July 2025 and then by February 2026 we are planning to have completed an American style cafeteria, the extension of the gymnasium and a new state of the art Performance Arts Centre. In anyone’s language this is a very ambitious building programme; this moment will be seen in years to come as a transformational period.

There are many significant future campus developments which have been signed off by the School Board and SAG INC (Hellenic Community of WA). With a new Primary Administrative and Pre-KG block being completed by July 2024; a Science and technology Block being completed in July 2025 and then by February 2026 we are planning to have completed an American style cafeteria, the extension of the gymnasium and a new state of the art Performance Arts Centre. In anyone’s language this is a very ambitious building programme; this moment will be seen in years to come as a transformational period.

We are a school in huge demand with 6-10% growth year-upon-year, we could continue to grow but believe we want to be the best not the biggest. We will be starting 2024 somewhere between 755 and 775 and we have set a total school roll cap of between 850-870.   We believe this is the largest we want to become as we want to retain the individual knowledge about every student.  Doing so will extend our already growing waitlists in certain cohorts.  In a very short space in time, we have become a highly selective school of choice.      

I would like to congratulate the staff at St. Andrew’s Grammar for their conscientious and positive approach this year. You are amazing at your craft and take a bow for a wonderful year that was 2023.

To those of you who are leaving us for new places and adventures, we wish you all the best.   For the vast majority who are returning enjoy the break.  Take time with family and enjoy the summer.  Return refreshed ready to achieve all your goals in 2024.  My family and I, wish you and your family a blessed Christmas time and a happy and restful New Year break.

Craig Monaghan

Principal