30 October 2017

‘We have more than 14,100 Year 12's in our schools this year, up on just under 14,000 last year,’ Catholic Education Commission of Victoria Executive Director Stephen Elder said.

‘They come from every corner of the state and every background, including Indigenous and refugee communities.

‘This year over 210,000 students – almost one in four Victorian school children – have enjoyed a Catholic education in one of nearly 500 schools statewide, supported by some 28,000 staff.

‘I know the effort our hard-working staff has put in to ensure our VCE contenders can be on peak performance and am immensely grateful for their work – and I know that the rest of our Catholic education family will be praying for their success.

‘They are undertaking the final steps of a journey that has taken them 12 years and trust God will guide their way through the weeks ahead.

‘I wish them all well and want to thank their school communities for all they have done to prepare our students for the VCE.

‘I’m also mindful of the pressure on parents this time of year brings. We at Catholic education work hard to repay the trust they put in us, and they are also in our prayers.’

Mr Elder said last year’s Catholic VCE performance augured well for the Class of 2017.

‘The average median score achieved by Catholic school students in 2016 was almost two points higher than the state average,’ Mr Elder said, ‘and the number of schools where all students satisfactorily completed the VCE leapt by 12.9 per cent.

‘More than 10 per cent of students received VCE study scores of 40 or above – representing exceptional performance – in close to a quarter of Melbourne Catholic schools, showing the quality across the system.

‘Our schools also performed strongly in vocational education and training, with a lift in the number satisfactorily completing VET units at a rate better than 90 per cent.’

Further information: Christian Kerr, Media Adviser, 03 9267 4411 or 0402 977 352