Lara McClelland (left), Charli Litster (middle) and Jonah Allen (right).
For 580 students at Yass High School, they’ve just woken to find their school recognised as one of the NSW Department of Education’s 2025 Most Improved HSC Schools.
Only 45 schools out of the 452 public schools within NSW received recognition. This is double the number of schools that had been honoured for their 2024 results.
Each year, 40,000 Year 12 students partake in the HSC (Higher School Certificate), which is the equivalent of a Year 12 certificate in NSW. The HSC generates results that can be used to calculate an ATAR for university entrances.
The earliest example of the HSC in 1967, where 18,000 students sat the first exams.
Significantly growing in their HSC performance each year, from 24.43 percent of results in the top three bands in 2022 to 31 percent in 2023, 36 percent in 2024 and 39.9 percent in 2025, Yass High School Principal, Andrew Facer says their results stem from a collaborative effort to see a shift in their education.
“It’s due to a lot of work from the teaching staff and a lot of work from the students themselves, with lots of support from our community,” he says.
The school attributes their success to a sustained focus on developing a strong culture of high expectations for both student behaviour and academic engagement, as well as the implementation of consistent staff practices and clearly defined behaviour management process, which, they say, has created learning environments that maximise valuable classroom time and promotes academic achievement.
To be considered for the accolade, schools must have demonstrated consistent growth over seven years that shows an increase in the number of students who achieved higher bands of the HSC, and for demonstrating strong progress for students across all bands.
Out of the 45 schools recognised, 18 were located in regional and rural areas.
“We’ve had a focus on extended response in writing over a number of years,” says Andrew.
“We are a community of schools, and we’ve had a joint focus on a writing program that improves access across all years (K-12).
“We know that it’s an avenue for future growth.”
Following a recent modernisation of their library, Andrew says it has become a social hub of the school.
“We’ve seen a huge increase in 2025 [library] borrowing rates, with an increase of 300 percent from the prior ten-year average,” he says.
“As a school, we are prioritising reading which is critical for writing.
“All subjects [within the school] were influenced by our whole school focus on literacy where we saw an improvement in written responses.”
This isn’t the only achievement that the school will quietly celebrate, with increasing cohort sizes on a weekly basis to cater to a rapidly growing Yass Valley community.
“I’m confident that we will see increased results in 2026,” says Andrew.
“We’ve got higher retention rates of students staying in school in Year’s 10 to 12, which contributes to the higher rates.”
For students whose calling lay elsewhere, Andrew says their education is equally important and ensures they provide school-based apprenticeship opportunities.
“We strive as a school to ensure students enter a pathway where they will be a success,” he says.
The school also says they have an ongoing investment in staff professional learning to ensure their teachers take a consistent approach to improving extended response writing, with a particular focus on expanding vocabulary, differentiated teaching and deepening their understanding of effective reading strategies.
Stage 4 students, they say, now participate in fortnightly library lessons to further support literacy development across the school.
“The facilities of the school are outstanding,” says Andrew.
“We have very modern facilities, quality professional staff and quality learning.”
Students, he says, continue to be at the forefront of everything they do.
“We tailor our education to suit the students,” he says.
The perfect announcement this early into their school year, he says it couldn’t have been done without their dedicated teachers putting in the time and effort to educate their students.
“A huge thank you to the staff,” says Andrew.
“They are all very committed and passionate about what they do.
“It’s the most collaborative environment that I’ve ever worked in, it’s collegial, full of camaraderie and dedication to improve student’s education every day.”
Raising the next generation of decision makers, leaders, artists, thinkers and dreamers, Yass High School takes students from Year Seven to Year 12.
“It’s a very exciting time for Yass High School and I’m very proud to be here,” says Andrew.
NSW Department of Education Secretary, Murat Dizdar says, “This is public education at its best: lifting outcomes and delivering on the promise of opportunity for every child in every community.”
“These schools are proof that great teaching changes lives. They are quietly and consistently turning potential into achievement – and that’s a story that deserves to be shared.”
– Elizabeth Kovacs
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