A DECADE after it won a bitter fight to stay open, Erskineville Public School is producing outstanding academic results, according to a Herald analysis of data published on the federal government's My School website.
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Enrolments had slumped to as few as 30 when the Carr government sought to shut the school. It now has 326 students and, on the strength of outstanding NAPLAN results in reading and writing, is ranked sixth in the state on overall academic performance.
Erskineville was ranked 43rd in the Herald analysis last year.
Three other public schools are ranked in the top 10, which is calculated on the average NAPLAN results achieved by year 3 and 5 students last year. They are Sydney Distance Education Primary (10th), and Artarmon (eighth) and Neutral Bay (ninth), which both run opportunity classes for year 5 and 6 students.
There is a strong correlation between the Herald's table and My School's ranking of the Index of Community Socio-Educational Advantage. Four schools - both the St Ives and Edgecliff Sydney Grammar Preparatory schools, Masada College and SCEGGS - are in the top 10 in both lists.
Erskineville Public helped students significantly improve their reading scores between year 3 in 2009 and year 5 results last year. This year My School includes a comparison of student gain with other students who had achieved the same score in year 3.
The website shows Erskineville students improved their reading from 473 to 631, about 100 points more than the average improvement of those who began with same reading ability. All Herald tables are calculated for schools with more than 100 students.
In numeracy, the selective Sydney Grammar prep schools were ranked first and second. The eight schools behind them are public schools that run opportunity classes which are filled by a selective exam.
St Michael's at Daceyville was ranked first in grammar and Abbotsleigh first in writing.
Snowy Mountains Grammar is the only non-metropolitan school to rank in the top 10 in a skill area.
Figures for the average recurrent income per student - excluding special schools catering for students with disabilities - show that some of the top private primary schools receive almost as much as state and federal governments allocate remote schools serving disadvantaged communities.
The best funded schools are Menindee Central, Drummond Memorial in Armidale and Ardlethan Central. Redlands and Ascham are also in the top 10.
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