- Flourishing students
- Secondary school
20 Aug 2026
Brisbane Catholic Education (BCE) secondary schools are celebrating encouraging outcomes in the 2026 National Assessment Program – Literacy and Numeracy (NAPLAN) assessments, with Year 9 results reflecting the positive impact of evidence-informed teaching, whole-school approaches and a focus on student growth.
While NAPLAN provides just one measure of student achievement, the results offer valuable insights that help schools identify strengths, monitor progress and inform future teaching and learning priorities.
Several BCE secondary schools, including St Augustine's College, Augustine Heights and Mt Maria College, Mitchelton and Marymount College, Burleigh Heads recorded positive results compared to national trends.
St Augustine’s College, Augustine Heights
At St Augustine’s College, Augustine Heights, strong and consistent results highlight a learning culture built on student ownership of learning and data-informed improvement.
The college's Year 9 cohort demonstrated strong performance across all five NAPLAN domains, with the strongest performance recorded in Writing and Grammar and Punctuation of 29 and 26 points above national averages, respectively. Reading, Spelling, and Numeracy outcomes were also strong, with results between 7 and 13 points above national benchmarks.
Teachers work collaboratively to analyse this NAPLAN data, Progressive Achievement Tests (PAT) and classroom assessment data to identify strengths and areas for growth, ensuring teaching is responsive to learner needs.
A strong whole-school focus on literacy, combined with a sustained emphasis on Mathematics through the College's Explicit Improvement Agenda (EIA), has helped build student confidence and achievement across all NAPLAN domains.
Students are also encouraged to understand their own learning progress and view NAPLAN as an opportunity to demonstrate their growth. Through targeted preparation and exposure to NAPLAN-style questions, they developed familiarity with the assessment and confidence in applying their knowledge and skills.
Principal Judith Jones said their results reflect the learning culture that sits behind them.
“These outcomes are not the result of a single initiative, but of a sustained commitment to quality teaching, evidence-informed practice and continuous improvement,” she said.
“Our staff regularly review student data and consider how we can give our students the best possible opportunities for learning. They have worked hard to ensure that our NAPLAN preparation is rigorous and meaningful.
“Our students approached NAPLAN with maturity and a genuine commitment to doing their best, recognising that the results provide valuable information to support their future learning.
“We are particularly proud that the results reflect our learning culture where students are active participants in their learning, teachers continually refine their practice and improvement is viewed as everyone’s responsibility.” Judith said.
Mt Maria College, Mitchelton
Year 9 results at Mt Maria College, Mitchelton, emphasise the impact of consistent teaching practices and targeted literacy and numeracy initiatives embedded across the College.
The results reflect a pattern of sustained improvement across all five NAPLAN areas, with standout results in Grammar and Punctuation, Writing, Reading and Numeracy, where the cohort achieved between 24 and 28 points above national averages.
A key driver of the school’s literacy success has been the use of resources and explicit teaching practice that support students to develop sentence fluency, vocabulary, paragraphing and writing confidence.
In numeracy, a focus on evidence-informed approaches including retrieval practice, regular topic testing, explicit instruction and collaborative planning has ensured consistency across classes.
Students have also benefited from structured reasoning opportunities, including BCE’s Fast Focus strategy, alongside activities designed to strengthen mathematical vocabulary, thinking and discussion.
Principal Luke Reed said the results demonstrated the power of collaboration across the school.
“It is inspiring to see the initiatives led by our curriculum teams and embraced by teachers and Inclusive Education staff. By embedding these strategies into everyday learning, students have had opportunities to build their skills in a range of contexts,” he said.
“We are very pleased to see that targeted initiatives have had a wonderful impact on both the writing and numeracy components of NAPLAN for our current Year 9 students.
“The data tells us that within these two areas specifically, students who were classified as ‘Needs additional support’, halved from the data gathered when the cohort was in Year 7.
“These are outstanding results for both our students and staff, and a reflection of their hard work, commitment and shared focus on growth.”
Marymount College, Burleigh Heads
Marymount College’s positive results in Reading, Writing, Grammar and Punctuation reflect a sustained focus on literacy development across the school.
The Year 9 cohort performed 25 points above the national average in Reading, 29 points in Writing and 33 points in Grammar and Punctuation, while achieving strong results against state benchmarks. Numeracy outcomes were strong, with 81 per cent of students achieving proficiency against year level benchmarks and testing 17 points above the national average.
Through professional learning, collaborative planning and explicit teaching strategies embedded across all learning areas, staff have worked to strengthen students’ literacy skills from Year 7 onwards.
A focus on vocabulary development, comprehension and inferencing is woven into everyday learning, ensuring students have regular opportunities to build and apply these skills.
Through explicit instruction, guided practice, modelling and ongoing feedback, students have been supported to build confidence, strengthen their literacy skills and achieve their personal best.
Principal John Christie said the results demonstrated the impact of a consistent approach to literacy and a shared commitment to student growth.
“Our Year 9s have not only demonstrated significant improvement in all aspects of literacy testing, but they have made significant progress throughout their time at Marymount College.”
Under the leadership of the school’s Assistant Principal – Junior Curriculum Wes Guthrie and Pedagogy Leader Mallory Lowe, staff have embraced ongoing professional learning and worked collaboratively to strengthen their practice.
Through ongoing professional learning and collaboration within Professional Learning Communities (PLCs), teachers share evidence-informed practices and a common language for learning.
“What makes these results particularly meaningful is that they reflect sustained growth achieved through a shared commitment to student learning.
“As a result, students experience high-quality teaching across all learning areas, providing a strong foundation for both academic achievement and future success.
“These results affirm that our focus on excellent teaching, student growth and continuous improvement is making a lasting difference in the lives of our young people,” John said.
Congratulations to all BCE students and staff on these outstanding results!
Read more on BCE’s 2026 NAPLAN results here.
For more information on St Augustine’s College, Augustine Heights or to enrol click here.
For more information on Mt Maria College, Mitchelton or to enrol click here.
For more information on Marymount College, Burleigh Waters or to enrol click here.
Image: ©Brisbane Catholic Education, St Augustine's College, Augustine Heights, 2026.
View all news