As a school community, Queenwood is incredibly proud of the achievements of our Year 12 students and their success in both the High School Certificate and the International Baccalaureate Diploma Programme. In 2022, Queenwood was ranked 21st in the State*, with the top 20 HSC & IB students obtaining a combined median ATAR of 98.79. For a school that is not academically selective we have enormous pride in our students results. Yet academic success does not stand alone, it is only one side of the report card.
It is the other side of the report card that encapsulates the culture of our school and the importance we place on caring for the wellbeing of the individual child. As a school community we do not underestimate the inextricable relationship between wellbeing and learning. If you were to walk amongst us, attend a lesson, sit in our assemblies, listen to our conversations, share in our laughter, you would begin to understand what wellbeing is at Queenwood. Certainly, every child from K – 12 is engaged in a wellbeing program that encapsulates social and emotional competencies and addresses themes that are both age appropriate and socially relevant. Presently, Year 8 are completing the Teen Youth Mental Health First Aid Certificate.
Yet, there is so much more. What is key to our everyday at Queenwood are our relationships. The relationships between students, whether they are built in the classroom or participating in cocurricular activities such as drama productions, debating, rowing, waterpolo, or developed from a shared passion of reading the classics, or building solar cars, or participating in art life drawing classes. These relationships are not only with their class peers, but they are also relationships that cross year groups, allowing students to observe and flourish. They build relationships with their teachers as they share a love of English or time spent sipping tea around the campfire, or hours spent outside the lesson unpacking complex thinking. The relationships are real and of course they change and develop as the child moves from Kindergarten to Year 7 to Year 12, and that is the magic of a school.
The size of a school matters. In today’s world, it is not uncommon for our students to have hundreds of friends or even thousands of friends online but are they authentic? Of course not, and that is why a school like Queenwood works. When we say we know each girl, we do. Whilst we are strong and big enough to compete on all stages, we are small enough to know one another. Our relationships are authentic and that truly matters.
The wellbeing of our students stems from our belief in their capacity. We encourage them to raise the bar, to raise the bar in managing their social interactions, in understanding themselves and in their capacity to make responsible decisions that foster achievement. As parents we often talk about the nature of parenting, and authoritative parenting is described as a more balanced approach in which parents are nurturing, responsive and supportive, yet sets firm limits for their children. This certainly resonates with how we interact with our students; we are a community that is respectful, honest, and fair. This sits alongside our desire to raise young women of the future, young women who recognise and cherish their capacity and it is for these reason Queenwood’s report card is one of pride, and, one of celebration.
*This ranking is based on the 2022 Sydney Morning Herald HSC League Table.