Matthew Flinders Anglican College in Buderim on the Sunshine Coast, Queensland has been named the most outstanding non-government primary school in Australia.
Flinders won its ‘Primary School of the Year (Non-Government)’ category in the 2023 Australian Education Awards (AEA), recognising excellence in education.
Head of Primary, Mrs Trudi Edwards and members of the Primary staff accepted the award on behalf of the College at the AEA ceremony in Sydney on Friday, 11 August.
The Australian Education Awards, now in its sixth year, recognises and celebrates the outstanding achievements of the country’s top performing schools, principals, department heads and teachers.
Founded in 1990 and set on a 22-hectare rainforest campus, Flinders is a leading independent co-educational school of 1,400 students from Prep to Year 12 along with the Flinders Early Learning Centre.
Mrs Edwards said Flinders Primary School took great pride in providing transformational learning experiences through bespoke curriculum and co-curricular programs to inspire students to achieve academic excellence, develop a profound sense of humanity and be motivated to create positive change in the world around them.
“This award recognises Flinders Primary School’s dedication and innovation in providing the highest standards of teaching and learning, and celebrates the dedication of staff who are committed to evidence-informed teaching practices” Mrs Edwards said.
“We proudly place learning at the heart of all we do, to educate our students so they are of good mind and good heart, and grow into capable, open-minded, compassionate and adaptable young people of integrity,” she said.
In being endorsed as the top primary school in the nation, Flinders was judged on its:
- consistently high standards of teaching and learning
- academic and other achievements during the 2022 school year
- rigorous professional learning to improve teaching and curriculum deliver
- demonstrated commitment to innovation and continuous improvement
- strong communication links with students, parents, teachers and the wider community, and
- effective management of facilities, finances and human resources.
Principal Stuart Meade said the College was thrilled to accept the highest accolade in its category in what are the leading independent awards in the K-12 education sector across Australia.
“It is an honour to have Matthew Flinders Anglican College recognised for the outstanding education we offer our College community,” Mr Meade said.
“There has been a dedicated, thoughtful and disciplined approach to the programs and practices in place in the Primary School; they do not ‘just happen’,” he said.
“The leadership and commitment of the staff – from the Head of Primary, Trudi Edwards, to the year level co-ordinators, specialist teachers and classroom experts – has been outstanding and it is a wonderful acknowledgement for their efforts over an extended period of time.”
Mrs Edwards said the Flinders Primary School provided a high-aspiration environment for learning.
“As a College community, we immerse students in a values-rich, high-aspiration environment where kindness and curiosity, responsibility and accountability, expectations and support, enquiry and mastery, encouragement and challenge, and rigour and engagement work together to provide a robust foundation for our students," she said.
“This drives our staff team to support the children in our care to achieve academic excellence and develop a strong moral character, with the empathy, skills and agency to contribute to a better world.
“We take great pride in delivering our I-care and i-Impact curriculum programs as a leading school in human-centred design thinking, and our Ready For… approach provides a strong academic focus with specialist teaching in Maths and Literacy.
“Students are also supported to be insatiably curious and to develop creativity through our signature Wonderations curriculum in the Wonderarium learning centre.
“And our Flinders Find My Spark co-curricular program enables students to explore diverse creative and sporting pursuits, delivered by our staff who share their passions and skills.”
Achievements for the Flinders Primary School in 2022 include:
- being the top performing Primary School on the Sunshine Coast for combined Year 3 and Year 5 NAPLAN results
- named one of The Educator’s 5-Star Innovative Schools for 2022
- ranked as Best Primary School on the Sunshine Coast by independent ‘Better Education’ 2022
- named an Apple Distinguished School for its outstanding implementation of Apple technology.
To learn more about the Flinders Primary School, visit here
