State schools get uni choices
Public school Sevenoaks Senior College was the only one in WA to achieve 100 per cent success in getting students into their first choice of university course this year.
Figures obtained from the Tertiary Institutions Service Centre under Freedom of Information laws reveal that all of the college's students who applied to enter university were offered their first preference.
Of the 133 students who were in Year 12 last year, 22 applied for university. The school's median Australian Tertiary Admission Rank was 64.3.
Principal Kathleen Partridge said the students had applied for a wide range of tertiary courses, including law, engineering, nursing and teaching.
Former head girl Lily Noordin will start a double degree in arts and science at Curtin University, while Stehan Janse van Rensburg will study planning at Edith Cowan University.
Ms Partridge attributed the school's success to individual career counselling for every student and weekly after-school sessions for Year 12s aiming for university.
Education Department director-general Sharyn O'Neill said Sevenoaks had provided another example of students in public schools receiving a quality education that set them up for future study and careers.
"For every ATAR-focused student from the school to get into their first-choice university course clearly also shows that the school staff have been effective in helping to counsel students into the best school-based courses to meet their aspirations," she said.
Four of the other schools in the top 10 were public schools - Belridge, Margaret River and Newton Moore senior high schools and Eastern Goldfields College.
Three Catholic schools and two independent schools also made the list. Catholic Education executive director Tim McDonald said though he was pleased at the number of students achieving their first preference in university courses, Catholic schools were equally focused on students who developed their careers outside the university system.
All Saints College, which topped the recent league tables for academic achievement, had 68 per cent of pupils get their first choice.
