WA’s Real Top 50 schools: Manjimup Senior High School tops regional ranking

Manjimup Senior High is the best performing school in all of regional WA, a study of Year 12 performance over the past three years has found. The West Australian WA’s Real Top 50 Schools rankings lists it as the number one school outside the metro area in the State and fourth highest overall. It also ranked as the third most successful public school in all of WA. As well as exam results, the rankings also took into account how advantaged a school’s students already were before they even set foot through the school gates. The school’s median ATAR has been shooting upwards for the past three years, recording 76.70 in 2019, 80.05 in 2020 and 88.24 last year. Its strong 2021 performance included an incredible 99.85 from graduate Brendan Walsh, which was the highest ATAR in the entire region. The school noted in its most recent annual report that the school had a below-average index of socio-educational advantage. The measure put it in the seventh percentile of all schools, which the report said “indicates a significant level of disadvantage amongst the school’s population”. Ahead of MSHS on the rankings were Penrhos College, Comet Bay College, Belmont City College, with Esperance Senior High School rounding out the top five. Other South West schools to make the top 10 were Australind Senior High School (sixth), Cape Naturaliste College (seventh) and Bunbury Senior High School (ninth). ASHS had the highest average ATAR across the entire South West last year with 84.15, based on the 45 of 95 students who completed university-bound studies, which placed it 38th overall for 2021. Its median ATAR was 77.30 in 2020 and 75.85 the year prior. Margaret River Senior High School ranked at 14th, with Bunbury Catholic College (17th) and Georgiana Molloy Anglican School (38th) also within the top 50.