1.      Staff Attendance
Teaching and non-teaching staff are reported on separately and the calculations have been formulated from the actual number of staff, rather than from full time equivalents. Staff engaged on a short-term basis like volunteers, sport coaches, music tutors and boarding tutors have not been included in this calculation. For teaching staff, only school term time was used for the calculation. Non-teaching staff absences were calculated using the standard 48 week working year.

The absences were mainly from sickness, bereavement or moving house.

• Teaching Staff - the average daily attendance rate for teaching staff in 2007 was 97.5%
• Non-Teaching Staff - the average daily attendance rate for non-teaching staff in 2007 was 97.4%.

Both of these figures are high and contribute to the College being able to deliver consistent teaching programs and service to the College community.

2.      Teaching Staff Retention
ScotchCollege continues to be an employer of choice and teaching staff retention is high. The College is able to attract high quality teachers when a vacancy occurs.

At the end of the 2006 academic year 93.6% of the teaching staff were retained for the 2007 academic year. The reasons for teachers leaving were:

• 1 retired
• 1 moved interstate
• 1 contract was not renewed
• 2 went to other schools

During 2007 academic year 96.6% of teaching staff were retained. The reasons for leaving were:

• 1 promoted to principal
• 1 move to UK
• 1 retrenched due to subject choice changes

3.         Teacher Qualification
A complete list of teacher qualifications is available at the back of the 2007 Cluaran. The teaching staff at ScotchCollege is highly qualified with the list of qualifications including a Doctorate, Bachelor and Masters Degrees, Graduate Diplomas, Diplomas and Certificates.

• 44% of the teaching staff have 2 professional qualifications
• 19% have 3 or more professional qualifications
• 12% have 4 or more professional qualifications

4.         Expenditure and Teacher Participation in Professional Learning
Professional Development for the teaching staff at ScotchCollege is an ongoing high priority. In 2007 an average of $666 was spent per teacher.

Professional Development Areas:

• Behaviour Management
• Special Needs
• Literacy
• Numeracy
• Curriculum Areas – English, Maths, Science, SOSE, Arts, PE, LOTE
• Leadership
• ICT

Specific Workshops:

• ICT
• Coaching
• Music
• Brain Centred Learning
• Gifted Education
• Inclusive Teaching
• Curriculum Areas – English, Maths, Science, SOSE, Arts, PE, LOTE
• Career Education
• Future SACE
• Beginning Teachers
• Speech and Language
• ESL
• Middle Schooling
• SSABSA Conferences
• Boarding Conferences
• Mandatory Notification

Additionally two staff members were accredited with their Wilderness Certificate and 32 staff renewed/achieved Senior First Aid Certificates.

At Scotch the Professional Development of non-teaching staff is valued and supported by the College. In 2007 an average of $220 was spent per person.

5.         Student Attendance
The average attendance rate for students in 2007 was consistently high across the College.
·         JuniorSchool 93%
·         Middle School 93.4%
·         SeniorCollege 93.7%

6.      Proportion of Year 3, 5 and 7 Students Meeting National Benchmarking Tests
ScotchCollege currently uses the Western Australian Literacy and Numeracy Assessments.

Below is a summary of the 2007 benchmark results for Years 3, 5 and 7 students, including a comparison with the results from 2006.  There was significant improvement in almost all areas of the testing program.

Percentages of students achieving national benchmark standards

7.      Changes in Benchmark Results from the Previous Year

It must be noted that any children who are withdrawn from the testing by parents are considered not to have achieved the benchmark. In addition, International students who are in the early stages of understanding English are another reason that 100% was not reached in all sectors of “Reading and Writing.”

8.         Value Added
All ScotchCollege students have significant learning experiences outside the core curriculum. These include:

• Information Communication Technology (ICT): embedded in the daily operations of the students and consequently students are using ICT as a tool whenever it is required, rather than when the hardware is available
• Touch typing : taught to all Year 7 students
• Outdoor Education: provided for all from Year 1 to 10. Students learn environmental understanding and conservation, map reading, survival skills, sailing, surfing, snorkelling, abseiling and teamwork. This is important in developing students who are adaptable and resilient
• Health and Wellbeing:  a curriculum focus and it is expected that students will play sport for the College. Students learn to value maintaining physical fitness and team commitment. In addition, cricket is played on turf wickets, and sports such as rowing, fencing and sailing are offered
• Values Education: an integral part of education at ScotchCollege. Our Chaplain is an important member of staff contributing to the values education program through curriculum development and pastoral care
• Integrates Global Perspectives: through the curriculum our students graduate with a view that is much wider than just the local community
• Counselling Team: comprising a Psychologist, Chaplain and College Nurse providing students and families with social, emotional, medical and spiritual support
• Special Learning – needs are catered for by our Individual Programming and Special Education Programs
• Comprehensive Pastoral Care System : providing a focus on the individual
• Diverse Curriculum: enabling students to experience a wide range of options, including Film-making, Agriculture, Fashion Design, Philosophy, Psychology, Music Technology and Outdoor Education
• Specialist Teachers: providing for students from Reception through to Year 12 offering individual support and extension as necessary
• Extensive Co-Curricular Activities: providing opportunities for all students to find an area to develop interest and skill. These activities include:

• Leadership Skills:  taught in a way that enables abundant of opportunities for students to practice their skills as House Captains, Student Representatives, Sport and Co-curricular Activities Leaders
• College Owned/Leased Properties: KangarooIsland and GooseIsland facilities add value to the Outdoor Education and Agriculture programs
• College Farm: ensuring our Agriculture programs are ‘hands on’ rather than just theoretical
• SPACE (Scotch Performing Arts Co Curricular Enrichment): providing a number of opportunities for students to develop advanced skills in Drama Performance, Dance, Theatre Production and Management, Film-Making and Sound Technology

9.         Average Standardised Assessment Results for Year 9 and 10 students
These tests are still under development by the Commonwealth Government and will not be introduced until May 2008.

10.       Year 12 Academic Results - 2007

10.1 The Cohort:
Of all the students completing the year, we had a 100% SACE completion rate.
70 students were eligible for the SACE with a TER and 100% achieved this goal
43 students sat for at least one Year 12 as IP students who were not in Year 12. Most were in Music, Biology, Broadcast & Multimedia, Business Studies, Dance, Physical Education and the Design & Technology.

10.2 The Subjects:
Scotch students took 32 (27 at Scotch, 5 external) different subjects at the Year 12 level in 2007, (36 in 2006, 40 in 2005, 35 in 2004, 32 in 2003, 36 in 2001 & 2002, 41 in 2000, 40 in 1999, 39 in1998, 34 in 1997)
The accompanying numbers in brackets indicate the numbers completing the subject in 2006.
Of the more popular subjects, 14 (20)* students took Specialist Maths, while 33 (52) students took Maths Studies and 22 (48) were in Maths Applications. 43 (58) took English Communications and 21 (34) were enrolled in English Studies
There were 32 (40) students taking Biology and for the first time 18 students enrolled in Psychology
9 (38) students took Business Studies, 26 (23) in Physical Education, 17 (36) in Chemistry, 17 (27) in Geography Studies, 12 (33) in Food and Hospitality and 27 (32) studied Physics.
In the languages, we had 6 (7) for Japanese, 1 (2) for French, 1 Chinese, 1 German and 1 Modern Greek
There is a range of different Music subjects available: Musicianship 2 (4), Solo Performance 6 (2), Ensemble Performance 1 (10) and Music Technology 13 (2)
6 (5) students were enrolled in Dance
*nb Numbers in brackets refer to 2006 data

10.3 Overall Achievement:
10.3.1 TER
70 students achieved their SACE with a TER score
The range was of TER results was from 99.9 to 45.8
12.9% of our students had a TER over 95, whereas the state average is 5%
The median TER was 79.65; ie 50% of students scored higher than this figure. (85.4 in 2006, 84 in 2005, 83 in 2004, 84.7 in 2003, 83.65 in 2002, 84.4 in 2002, 82.45 in 2001, 84.05 in 2000 and 84.5 in 1999)

TER Analysis

10.3.2 Subject Scores:
Subject Scores for Year 12:

This compares with a State average for 2007 of 55% for the total number of As and Bs.

10.4 Individual Recognition
10.4.1 TER >95
The following list identifies those students who scored a TER within the top 5% of the State:

10.4.2 Merit Awards
The maximum Subject Achievement Score is a 20/A - a "merit". This score is unscaled
Students scoring merits were:

10.4.3

 Like Schools Data 2007
Like Schools Data has been generated for each school, with the information presented in the form of seventeen reports. The reports include school level information for Stage 1 and Stage 2 of the SACE.

Each school has been placed into a Like Schools group. These groups have been formed using a range of factors that research has shown affect student performance, including socio-economic indicators, size of the student cohort, retention of students from Stage 1 to Stage 2, and the proportion of Indigenous students in the school. The groups of Like Schools have been calculated using 2001 data. To enable benchmarking over multiple years to occur, the Like Schools groupings will be maintained for at least 3 years.

SCHOOL AVERAGE ACHIEVEMENT SCORE DISTRIBITION
This report provides school level information on the percentage of results in each achievement score band

SCHOOL AVERAGE TERTIARY ENTRANCE RANK, BY YEAR

This report provides school level information the TERs of students who were eligible for a TER

SCHOOL TERTIARY ENTRANCE RANK DISTRIBITION
(Five Number Summary)

This report provides school level information on the minimum, first quartile, median, third quartile and maximum Tertiary Entrance Rank (TER) attained each year

Using the above data, the spread of TER scores in 2007 were from 46 to 99.95. Also 50% of our students gained a score of 79.4 or better.

11.       Proportion of Year 9 Students Retained to Year 12
Our retention rate for 2007 was 98.7%. This is an abnormal pattern for Scotch College. We tend to enrol more students in the SeniorCollege and hence each Year 9 group usually grows in size by the time it gets to Year 12. However in 2006 a number of students left school at the end of Year 11 in order to undertake apprenticeships and work placements.

12.       Post School Destinations
Scotch College Year 12 students were very successful in gaining entrance to the courses of their choice.  57% gained entrance to the course of their first preference and 21 % were made offers for their second preference.

The following chart summarises the destinations of our 2007 leavers. This includes a small number of students who completed Year 10 or 11. Around 90%, including deferrals will go on to include Further Education or Training or continue their education elsewhere. A number have taken advantage of the buoyant labour market to move quickly into part time or full time work. The Gap Year concept seems to be increasing in popularity. Foundation Courses offer an alternative for students, especially Internationals who do not achieve the required TER. For this reason some Internationals enrol in Foundation Courses which usually guarantees entry to second year university.

Figure 1

Figure 3: Students gaining their first or second preference

What courses are students undertaking?
Offers of places range over more than 25 course areas, the most popular are:
Commerce/Economics/Business/Marketing (sometimes combined with Arts) - 10
Education - 6
Engineering - 5
Science (including Medical Science) - 5
Law - 4

Otherwise they are spread across a broad range of courses including Sport and Recreation Management, Journalism, Public Relations, Construction Management, Visual Arts, Architecture, Psychology, Nursing, Oenology, Animal Science, Agriculture, Pharmacy, Medicine, Medical Radiations, Podiatry, Physiotherapy, Arts, International Studies, Human Movement and Environmental Management.

Engineering numbers are lower this year. Commerce and Economics are similar to previous years. Education continues its upward trend. Students also continue to prefer courses which have a vocational focus. Those in more general courses are sometimes there because they have not achieved their higher preferences and are hoping to transfer later.

This information in Figures 2 and 3 comes from SATAC, the organization that arranges offers for tertiary study at University or TAFE in South Australia.  It was current at the time of the final round of offers (students may gain places in courses with vacancies after this).  SATAC does not provide information on interstate offers or private providers.  Full fee paying students are excluded because the SATAC database reveals their preferences but not offers.

TAFE and University preferences and offers are dealt with separately because students may apply for and receive offers for both.

12.1 TAFE
7 students registered preferences for TAFE courses.
Of these:
4 received offers for their first preference.
3 received no offers but 2 of these received university offers.

12.2 University
61 non international students registered preferences for university places. Adelaide was the first preference for 44% of students compared to Uni SA, 33% and Flinders, 23% (percentages are rounded off).  58 received offers, 41% to Adelaide, 36% to Uni SA and 23% to Flinders.
35 were offered their first preference (57%, compared to 74% for 2007, 58% for 2006 and 59% for 2005).
13 were offered their second preference (21% compared to 20% for 2007 and 25% for 2006).
8 were offered their third preference (13%).
One was offered a fourth preference.
None was offered a fifth preference.
One was offered a sixth preference.
3 received no offer (compared to one last year).

12.3 Interpretation
These statistics are based on student preferences at the time of the final round of offers. They may have changed their preferences after receiving their results (able to change preferences with equal consideration until 4/1/08).  Some would have removed Medicine as a preference after receiving their UMAT result. Others leave it as a first preference even though they have not passed the UMAT.

The less academic students are showing a better knowledge and greater acceptance of alternative pathways and the buoyant job market offers more opportunities.  Overseas travel continues to be popular.

The data is difficult to interpret because a range of factors are involved. For example, some TERs have fallen in recent years making courses more accessible. On the other hand the TERs for many courses remain very high and students do well to gain entry. This year the percentage achieving first or second preferences returned to levels similar to those before 2007. In some cases a second or third preference would be a similar course, perhaps at a different university, in other cases something quite different. Students are encouraged to put first what they really want to do and not to be put off by high TERs. A third preference might be a very good outcome for some students but very disappointing for others. Overall, however, most students are making realistic choices and are receiving offers which will enable them to study in their preferred fields.

13. Parent, Student and Teacher Satisfaction
13.1. Parent Satisfaction
The last survey conducted was during 2006.  In this the vast majority of parents indicated that they were very satisfied with the College and its operations. Those areas highlighted were:

·         The Physical environment of the College
·         Safety
·         Outdoor Education program
·         Valuing of the Scottish heritage
·         Relationships between staff and students
·         Communication regarding student performance
·         Amount of sport is just right
·         Communication regarding College functions
·         Quality of sporting facilities
·         Parents valued as part of the community

At that time areas that were identified as needing some attention were those of communication on future directions of the College and sport’s coaching.  Whilst attention has been given to these areas, the major focus has been on changes to the curriculum, timetable, House system and daily schedules.  The College will continue to monitor all these changes and report to the whole school community.

13.2.    Student Satisfaction
During term 1 the Principal met with a number of Year 12 students for a talk over lunch. The mature and valuable insights the final year students provided have shown that generally students are very happy to be at school and have great respect for their teachers. The main areas of strength identified were:

• Friendly, positive relationships that exist between students and staff and the students themselves
• The school is generally free of tension and the students valued the sense of collegiality they share with their peers
• High academic standards expected and achieved
• Differentiated (individualised) learning takes place
• Curriculum diversity and opportunity to select
• Staff willingness to assist students in achieving their best
• Outdoor Education programs
• Absence of hierarchies between year groups and minimal occurrences of bullying
• Sporting opportunities and performance – Scotch students regularly ‘punch above their weight’
• Outstanding grounds and learning facilities
• Overall students have been pleased with fewer free lessons and more time allocated to structured lessons
• They like starting the day with lesson 1 at 8.35am rather than House time

The main areas for development or improvement included:

• Boarding facilities
• Ongoing review of the revised pastoral time – students want more
• Inter-House competition
• Student common rooms and ablution facilities

The Principal has again been impressed by the genuine respect and affection the senior students have for their teachers.

13.3. Teacher Satisfaction
Exit surveys from teachers leaving in 2007 indicated a high level of satisfaction in their employment at ScotchCollege.

Areas that rate highly are:

• Collegiality of staff
• Professionalism and positive intent of the staff
• Friendly atmosphere around the school and the sense of community
• Quality of students with whom they have worked
• Superb environment
• Professional development opportunities
• Opportunities to use their particular skills, training and experience