Primary School Performance – Brisbane Northside Results

Families researching primary school options in North Brisbane and the Moreton Bay region often start by looking at NAPLAN information. This article refers to Year 5 NAPLAN results in areas such as mathematics and English to help parents understand how reporting works. Of course, NAPLAN doesn’t tell the whole story about what makes a local primary school great.

Young children gain much more from school than academic results alone. If your school does not appear in this list, it does not mean it is not a great place for your child. NAPLAN information is included here as a general reference only and should be considered alongside school visits, catchment rules and individual student needs.

Because people’s definitions of the Northside, Western Suburbs and Southside may vary, please check each list if you cannot find your school.

Primary School – Brisbane Southside, Logan and Redlands

or Primary School – Brisbane West and Ipswich Corridor

Schools commonly researched by families in North Brisbane and the Moreton Bay region

How to read this list:
This is a plain, non-ranked list of primary schools commonly researched by families in North Brisbane and the Moreton Bay region. It does not compare schools or imply academic performance. NAPLAN is referenced here only to help parents understand reporting, not to judge school quality.

This is not an exhaustive list of all primary schools in the region. It reflects schools most frequently researched by families through Families Magazine and related community resources.

• Brisbane Boys’ College
• St Ignatius School Toowong
• Ashgrove State School
• Clayfield College
• Ithaca Creek SS
• Newmarket SS
• Northside Christian College
• St Ambrose’s Newmarket
• St Finbars Ashgrove
• St Margaret’s Anglican Ascot
• St Paul’s Bald Hills
• The Lakes College
• Wilston SS
• Wooloowin SS
• Eagle Junction SS
• Kedron SS 
• New Farm SS
• Oakleigh SS
• Our Lady of Dolours School Mitchelton
• Our Lady of the Angels Wavell Heights
• St Agatha’s Clayfield
• St Anthony’s Kedron
• St Columba’s Wilston
• Enoggera SS
• Kelvin Grove State College
• McDowall SS
• St Dympna’s Aspley
• St Joseph’s School Bardon
• St Pius Banyo
• Toowong SS
• Windsor SS
• Aspley SS
• Milton SS
• Queen of Apostles Stafford
• St Joseph’s Bracken Ridge 
• Virgina State School
• All Saints Albany Creek
• Ascot SS
• Bardon SS
• Genesis Christian College Bray Park
• Patricks Road SS
• Shorncliffe SS
• St Kevin’s (Geebung)
• St Kieran’s School Brighton
• Albany Hills SS
• Good Shepherd Christian School
• Holy Spirit New Farm
• Northgate SS Nundah
• Our Lady of Assumption Enoggera
• St Andrew’s (Ferny Grove)
• St Mary of the Cross School Windsor
• Aspley East SS
• Bald Hills SS
• Grace Lutheran College Clontarf
• Living Faith Murrumba Downs
• Prince of Peace Everton Hills
• Samford SS
• St Benedicts Mango Hill
• Hamilton SS
• Mueller College Rothwell
• Our Lady Help of Christians
• St Flannan’s School Zillmere
• Everton Park SS
• Ferny Grove SS
• Geebung SS
• Mitchelton SS
• Narangba Valley State School
• Petrie Tce SS 
• Brisbane Central SS
• Christ The King Catholic Primary
• Mango Hill SS
• Northpine Christian College Dakabin 
• Nundah SS 

What do NAPLAN results actually tell parents?

Not all that much. Primary school ranking based strictly on NAPLAN scores gives a very narrow view of the school as a whole. For most parents though, academic achievement in the school is one of the determining factors in making educational decisions. At Families Magazine we’re proud to support a holistic and comprehensive approach to choosing a school for your child.

What are my primary school options?

Most of the public schools listed have pretty strict catchment areas in place. School catchment information can be found here. If you’re considering a private school, you may be required to apply for a place in the year your child is born! Check out our Parent Fact Sheets for more information on school options.

How to Choose a GOOD School in Brisbane

But what you want to know RIGHT NOW is which schools are ‘good’ and which schools are not good. There are so many variables to this the BEST way to find out is go to the schools you are interested in fully armed with all the questions you should be asking and getting answers to… a Brisbane school teacher has told us what she would expect to be asked if a parent was truly looking to find a good school for their child – read what she said here.

How NAPLAN reporting has changed

In 2023, the criteria for ranking schools based on NAPLAN results changed. A “common scale” is now used whereby all results for a domain (reading, writing, etc.) are on one continuous scale with a midpoint of 500. This allows for tracking of improvement over time. The school’s average score is an aggregation of all its student scores across all domains.

Catchments, parent fact sheets and other info on the top schools in Brisbane

Most of the top state primary schools now have a catchment limitation. This means that if you’re not in the area, you’re not in the school! Learn more about primary school catchments here. Families Magazine also provides Parent Fact Sheets on top schools in the Brisbane area – visit our schools & education articles to find all the information you need when considering a primary school for your child. If you’re considering a school that doesn’t have a fact sheet, please comment below – we’ll get right on it!

Again, just because these are the top performing primary schools in Brisbane, doesn’t mean that your primary school isn’t wonderful! Primary school rankings only rate one area of school life. At Families Magazine, we believe that education is a life long journey, not a test result!

Data reference: This article refers to publicly available information on the Australian Government’s My School website to explain how NAPLAN reporting works. School names listed reflect community interest, not reproduced datasets.