WA’s top schools: Public school, girls colleges lead the way in humanities and social sciences

Students from WA’s only academically-selective public school are leading the State in humanities and social sciences. Analysis of Year 12 results from the past seven years shows Perth Modern School pupils have been among the best in WA across five ATAR humanities and social sciences subjects every year since the courses were first offered in 2016. Girls’ schools dominated, with nine in The West’s top 20 list, including St Hilda’s Anglican School for Girls and Perth College, which ranked third and fourth respectively. Three all-boys’ schools were in the top 20, including Christ Church Grammar School in second position. The list is drawn from School Curriculum and Standards Authority data that identifies schools that shine in individual subjects, based on the percentage of students with scores in the top 15 per cent of all students studying that subject. Perth Modern achieved a perfect record of seven mentions in seven years based on students’ performances in ancient history, economics, modern history and politics and law. The Subiaco school dropped back to three mentions for geography. Principal Mitchell Mackay said while Perth Modern students were “incredibly intelligent”, this intellect also came with a strong sense of social justice. “The study of the humanities allows them to explore world events, both past and present, and helps them to understand their place within society and to develop the ability to express an informed opinion,” he said. “Each of our teachers are experts in their subject areas and have had many years of experience. Their unique understanding of teaching gifted students and their attention to the fine detail of the curriculum allows them to help students achieve at the highest levels year after year.” Perth Modern head of humanities and social sciences Louise Secker said young adults were seeking to find out who they were and how they fitted into the world around them. “They are concerned about social justice and what the future looks like,” she said. “This is where HASS can truly engage students by providing them with the context of how and why decisions have been made locally, nationally and globally.” Ms Secker said the school’s ATAR success had built on its outstanding programs in Years 7 to 10 that focused on critical and flexible thinking. “Students are encouraged to explore issues from different viewpoints and engage their critical and divergent thinking to develop alternate ideas,” she said. “We also offer the students a range of activities such as model United Nations, mock trials, interschool debating, young historian and young geographer competitions, which provide students with opportunities to challenge themselves as well as meet other like-minded students both within and outside of the school.”