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Alphington Grammar School is an open entry, co educational Pre Prep toYear 12 independent school established in 1989, providing an exemplary seculareducation at a competitive cost. In accordance with our key values statement,we encourage all our students to aim high, analyse critically, think globally,respect others, show compassion, value diversity and live creatively. AlphingtonGrammar sets out to inspire and equip all students to strive for excellence intheir academic, creative and sporting pursuits and to reach their personal best inall fields. We aim to nurture and promote the unique qualities and personalwell being of all students and their respect for the individuality of others. Ourprogrammes are designed to equip all students with the knowledge, skills andattributes to participate successfully in Australian Society, and to developlifelong learning skills that will prepare them for a multitude of futures in aglobally mobile workforce.

Having been established by the Greek Orthodox Community of Melbourne andVictoria, part of our ethos is to promote students' understanding andappreciation of our culturally diverse society, including the teaching of Greeklanguage and culture, and of the contribution of the Hellenic intellectualtradition to the development and progress of human society. About 60% of ourstudents come from a Greek background, with the remainder representing a fullrange of Melbourne's culturally diverse population. Our extensive languageprogramme includes both Greek and Mandarin Chinese.

In Pre Prep, students develop motivation and enthusiasm for learning aboutthemselves and the world around them. From Prep to Year 10 our balancedprogramme ensures students gain experience and capabilities in all learningdomains, including enhancement and learning support where appropriate, andcomprehensive sports and creative arts opportunities, before making keychoices about their learning paths in the senior (VCE) years. At VCE we offer awide choice of subjects in small classes with an emphasis on academicexcellence.

Our students leave us as self aware young adults fully equipped and ready toparticipate in the next phase of their educational and career paths.

I�’m very pleased to announce thatonce again our students haveexcelled in their VCE studies. Theclass of 2012 have set new recordsin VCE performance that willbecome the benchmark for futureYear Levels. The standard ofacademic performance across theschool continues to rise andcontinues to be a focus of theschool.

Of course, if you asked studentsfrom the class of 2012 whetherthey remembered their last yearshere for all of the study and hardwork, they would disagree. Ratherthey�’d talk about the camaraderieof the students. They�’d talk fondlyof their experiences in sport,music, the arts, cross curricularprogrammes, debating or one ofthe many other elements of oureducational program. Our studentsfeel connected.

Our outgoing students would alsotalk fondly of their staff. Theadvantage of our size is thatstudents are known �– they aremore than just one facelessstudent among many. Ourstudents develop a strongrelationship with our dedicated,caring staff. This makes thelearning environment moreproductive.

Our school offers a wide variety ofopportunities. Whether it be achance to participate in sport, thecreative arts, debating, studentleadership or some other elementof school life, our students areexposed to opportunities.

For over 20 years our school hasbeen providing a dynamic, secureand caring learning environment inwhich our students can thrive. As aschool we actively encourage ourstudents to maintain a strong focuson their studies and to be involvedin the rich tapestry of otheropportunities that we expose themto.

As we move forward, we willcontinue to encourage ourstudents to get connected with ourdynamic school culture.

Mr Mark Stanton �– Acting PrincipalB Bus, M IT, M Ed L�’ship, Grad Cert Ed,Grad Dip Ed

AGS is a dynamic school with a dynamic leadership and management structure.Founded in 1989, the school is lead by a team of dedicated educationalprofessionals with a vision for the future of the school.

The Senior Management Team (2012)From left to right: Mrs Judy Fetter (School Development Manager), Mr Mark Stanton (Director of Teaching & Learning [Assistant Principal]) Mr Mike Smith (Principal) Mr Manuel Pappos (Business Manager) Mrs Tracey Nicholson (Director of Student Welfare and Staff Wellbeing [Assistant

Principal])

The staff of the school have a wealth of educational experience behind them.The composition of the staff is as follows:

Workplace Profile*

Category Male % Female % Total

Teaching Staff 22% 78% 64

Support Staff 33% 67% 9

* % of Indigenous Staff = 0%

Teaching Staff Qualifications (*all have a Bachelor degree as minimum)

Category Male % Female % Total

Masters or Doctorate 10% 12% 14

Other Further Study 12% 66% 50

Professional Learning (*measured in hours for the year)

Category Offsite In House Total

Offsite 485 5,500 5,985

Our staff work together in learning teams throughout the year. In house hoursrepresent professional learning outside of class time or on school closure days. Thetotal above represents an average of 82 hours per staff member for the year.

2012 saw an end of an era atAlphington. This year we saidgood bye to Mr Mike Smith �– ourSchool Principal for 14 years. Mikehas had a significant impact on theschool community. On behalf of allthe staff, students and parents ofthe school we wish him well in hisfuture endeavours and thank himfor his dedicated service over thepast 14 years.

Mr Mike Smith at his finalassembly �– October 2012.

Student attendance is managed through a computerised student administrationprogram. Attendance rolls are marked at least twice a day. In the SecondarySchool attendance is taken each class. Senior School students (Years 11 and 12)are required to sign in and out whenever they come to school or leave theschool. Parents are automatically notified of unexplained absences via textmessages to mobile telephone numbers.

Our Student Attendance

School Year % Attendance

Year Prep 97.2

Year 1 94.7

Year 2 96.4

Year 3 96.5

Year 4 96.4

Year 5 95.5

Year 6 95.9

Year 7 95.6

Year 8 94.5

Year 9 96.2

Year 10 94.8

Year 11 93.2

Year 12 99.1

Whole School 95.8

In November, 2012, the AlphingtonGrammar School School Councilofficially announced theappointment of Dr Vivianne Nikouto the position of Principal ofAlphington Grammar School fromthe start of the 2013 school year.We welcome Dr Nikou into ourschool community and wish herevery success for the future.

AGS Junior Choir performing at HiSense Arena prior to an international basketball game 2012

As can be seen in the table below, AGS students continue to perform at abovethe National Average in every measure in the NAPLAN tests completed eachMay.

(Green next to the AGS result indicates we have achieved a result above the Nationalaverage performance level.)

NAPLAN Results

Year Level Median Reading PersuasiveWriting

Spelling GrammarPunctuation

Numeracy

Year 3 �– AGS 426 448 449 446 414

Year 3 �– National 420 416 414 424 396

Year 5 �– AGS 528 517 551 544 542

Year 5 �– National 494 477 496 491 489

Year 7 �– AGS 576 575 571 587 573

Year 7 �– National 542 518 543 546 538

Year 9 �– AGS 625 592 609 618 645

Year 9 �– National 575 554 577 573 584

AGS students are performing substantially above the national average in manyNAPLAN measures. The graph below shows performance over the past five yearsin Year 9 Numeracy

Each year Alphington GrammarSchool awards an academic prizeat each year level. The 2012academic prize winners were:

Year 12 �– Jordan Ignatiadis[Dux of School]

Year 11 ShoumyaaThanaskanda

Year 10 Nikolas Kazantzidis Year 9 Elleni Tsaketas Year 8 Stephanie Turnbull Year 7 Benjamin Giosis Year 6 Hannah Reid Year 5 Elyssa Rebeiro

The 2012 Dux of the School �–Jordan Ignatiadis �– with DrVivianne Nikou and Mr MarkStanton at the Scholar�’s Assembly(Feb 2013).

The academic results of all of our students across external and internal measures were the best we�’ve everhad. A snapshot of our VCE results is provided below:

Our VCE Results

Description Result

Median Study Score 30

40+ Results 10%

No of Subjects with 40+ scores 13

% of Year 11s getting 40+ scores 30%

% of student ATARs in top 5% of State 6%

% of student ATARs in top 10% of State 11%

% of student ATARs in top 20% of State 30%

It was very gratifying to see our students achieve a median Study Score of 30 for the year. 10% of our StudyScores this year have been in the range of 40+ (placing these students in the top 8 9% of all students in therelevant subject in the State).

We achieved 8 results of 45 or above (which places these students in the top 2% of all students in the State).This year Study Scores of 40+ have been achieved in a range of subjects including:

Further Maths; Legal Studies; Health & Human Development; English; Literature; Accounting; Greek;Economics; IT Applications; Biology; Psychology; Physics; and Chemistry.

Nearly 6% of our students have achieved an ATAR of 95 or above (ie top 5% of all students in the State).Approximately 12% of our Year 12s achieved an ATAR of 90 or above (ie top 10% of the State). Approximately30% of our students achieved an ATAR of 80 or above and nearly half ended up scoring an ATAR of 70 orabove. Our average ATAR was well above the average ATAR of the State.

The recent VTAC release of information proves that 2012 was an excellent year for AGS: academically, culturallyand on the sporting field the school was very successful. 100% of our students attained their VCE Certificate. Thevast majority of our students have received places to undertake tertiary study in Victoria and abroad. 82% of theyear group have gained university places, with the largest numbers being at the University of Melbourne, RMITand Latrobe University. 72% of our students received their first choice of University course and 93% of tertiaryoffers were from the students�’ top three preferences.

AGS is a not for profit school. It is a Public Company Limited by Guarantee.

Total Gross Income 2012

Funding Source $ Total $ perstudent

Australian Government recurrent funding 2,153,734 4,248State Government recurrent funding 490,004 966Fees, charges and parent contributions 5,000,596 9,863Other private sources 149,499 295

Total gross income(excluding income from government capital grants)

7,793,833 15,372

The continued financial stability ofthe school is illustrated by:

Alphington Grammar School�’sfinancial reports areindependently audited byPandeli & Co Accountants. Theschool�’s accounts are auditedin accordance with AustralianAuditing Standards.

The distribution of its incomesource is 69% private and 31%government. This is incomparison to the averagegovernment funding receivedby Victorian Independentschools of 50% private and50% government.

The school was alsoresponsible for privatelyfinancing 60% of its capitalworks in 2012 while receivingAustralian Governmentcontribution equivalent to40%.

The school continues toimprove its financial viabilitywith continued increases inNon Current Assets anddecreases in Non CurrentLiabilities. The School�’sfinancial position as at 31December 2012 showed thatits accumulated funds havegrown to a total of$4,757,528.

Mr Manuel Pappos[Business Manager]B Com, Grad Dip Ed

Alphington Grammar Schoolsets out to:

1. Inspire and equip all students tostrive for excellence in theiracademic, creative and sportingpursuits and to reach theirpersonal best in all fields;

2. Nurture and promote the uniquequalities and personal well beingof all students and their respect for the individuality of others;

3. Equip all students with the knowledge, skills and attributes to participatesuccessfully in Australian Society, and to develop lifelong learning skills that willprepare them for a multitude of futures in a globally mobile workforce;

4. Promote students�’ understanding and appreciation of our culturally diversesociety, including the teaching of Greek language and culture, and of thecontribution of the Hellenic intellectual tradition to the development andprogress of human society.

At the centre of Alphington Grammar School�’s philosophy is the aim to promote aholistic development of each child within the school including their academic,creative, sporting and personal development. This development is supported by arange of core values: to respect others; to analyse critically; to show compassion; tothink globally; to aim high; to live creatively; and to value diversity. These corevalues underpin both our pastoral and curriculum development.

AGS regularly performs research tobetter understand the strengthsand weaknesses of our school. Thisimportant information helps us tobuild upon the experiences weoffer.We conducted staff, student andparent surveys relating to the AGSexperience.All participants were asked torespond to a range of questions ona five point scale (Strongly Agree,Agree, Neither Agree nor Disagree,Disagree and Strongly Disagree).The average response for all threegroups was overwhelming positivewith no average result being below3.50.Some of the results of theseSurveys are included on thefollowing pages.

We asked our parents 33 questions ranging across the followingtopics: Students and Student Management; The Staff of the School;School Environment and Resources; Leadership; Curriculum; CoCurricular Programs; and Marketing and Communications. Over onethird of our families responded to the Survey.

The average response to the Parent Survey across all measures wasoverwhelming positive. The following areas, in particular, receivedmean scores in excess of 4 (ie the mid point of responses wasbetween Agree and Strongly Agree):

The students of the school are motivated to learn.

Students are proud of their school.

Students have a strong sense of belonging to AGS.

The teachers of the school are generally very good.

The teachers of the school generally know their subject matter.

The school offers a pleasant physical environment in which tolearn.

Classroom facilities are generally of a good standard.

Teaching resources are generally of a good standard.

Classroom infrastructure (tables, chairs, whiteboards, carpets etc)is generally suitable.

The Senior Management of the school are approachable and acton concerns.

Teachers of theschool areapproachableand act onconcerns.

The Musicprogram of theschool isgenerally good.

I feel Iunderstand whoto contact at theschool when Ihave an issuerelating to myson or daughter.

We asked our staff 43 questions ranging across the following topics:Students and Student Management; Staff, Professional Learning andAppraisal; School Environment and Resources; Leadership and RoleClarity; Curriculum; Co Curricular Programs; and Marketing andCommunications. Over two thirds of our staff responded to the Survey.

The average response to the Staff Survey across all measures wasoverwhelming positive. The following areas, in particular, received meanscores in excess of 4 (ie the mid point of responses was between �‘Agree�’and �‘Strongly Agree�’):

The school caters well to the needs of students. The students of the school are motivated to learn. Relationships between colleagues are generally good at our school. The teachers of the school are generally very supportive of eachother.

The teachers in my faculty area/s work well together. Good access is provided to professional development activities. I like working at AGS. Our school is a pleasant physical environment in which to work. The ICT resources available to staff are good. Classroom infrastructure (tables, chairs, static whiteboards, carpetsetc) are suitable.

I find Senior Management of the school supportive. I feel I understand all of the aspects of my role at the school I feel the Senior Managers of the school are visible.

The overallcurriculum of ourschool provideswell for ourstudents' needs.

We havedeveloped somevery effective andinnovativecurriculum andcross curriculumprogrammes at ourschool.

The school runs awide ranging cocurricular program.

I actively supportthe co curricularprogram of theschool.

We asked our students 33 questions ranging across the followingtopics: Students and Student Management; The Staff of the School;School Environment and Resources; Leadership; Curriculum; CoCurricular Programs; and Marketing and Communications. We gavethe Survey to a selection of students in Years 5, 6, 7, 8, 9 and 11(comprising roughly one fifth of the student cohort).

The average response to the Student Survey across all measureswas overwhelming positive. The following areas, in particular,received mean scores in excess of 4 (ie the mid point of responseswas between Agree and Strongly Agree):

The school caters well to the needs of students.

The school has an effective student discipline policy.

Students have a strong sense of belonging to AGS.

The teachers of the school are generally very good.

The teachers of the school generally know their subject matter.

The teachers of the school communicate effectively withparents.

The Senior Management of the school are approachable and acton concerns.

School Middle Managers are approachable and act on concerns.

Teachers of the school are approachable and act on concerns.

The school offers a pleasant physical environment in which tolearn.

Classroomfacilities aregenerally of agoodstandard.

Teachingresources aregenerally of agoodstandard.

The overallcurriculum ofour schoolprovides wellfor ourstudents'needs.

18 Old Heidelberg Road, PO Box 5007, Alphington Vic 3078

PH: +613 9497 4777

Fax: +613 9497 3479

Email: info@ags.vic.edu.au

Web: www.alphington.vic.edu.au

CRICOS: 018421J

ABN: 11 007 434 362