While NAPLAN results across the state have raised fresh concerns about students slipping on the basics, one small Ashwood primary school is quietly doing the opposite. Parkhill Primary School has posted 2026 results that sit well above local network and similar-school averages, according to figures published this month.

The numbers are hard to argue with. In Year 3, 83% of students landed in the Strong or Exceeding proficiency bands for Reading, 89% for Numeracy, 83% for Writing, 78% for Spelling, and 72% for Grammar and Punctuation. Year 5 results push further again: 100% of students in Strong or Exceeding for Reading, 97% for Numeracy, 83% for Writing, 90% for Spelling, and 83% for Grammar and Punctuation. Zero percent of Year 5 students fell into the “needs additional support” band for Reading, Numeracy, or Writing.

Those figures aren’t just strong in isolation, they’re strong against the schools Parkhill is actually being measured against. Year 5 Reading at 100% compares to 84% across similar schools and 87% across the local network. Year 5 Numeracy sits at 97% against 85% and 90%. Year 3 tells the same story on a smaller scale, with Reading at 83% against 80% and 83%, and Numeracy at 89% against 78% and 85%.

That context matters given the broader picture. The Herald Sun’s coverage of the 2026 NAPLAN results pointed to a drop in basic literacy and numeracy skills across a large number of Victorian schools, with education officials calling for renewed vigilance on foundational teaching. Parkhill was one of the schools named as bucking that trend. For a school of its size, sitting inside a suburb better known for its quiet streets than its test scores, that’s a notable result to land in a year when so many schools didn’t.

It also lines up with what a lot of Ashwood families already say about the place. Parkhill has built a reputation locally as something of a hidden gem, a small school where staff know the kids by name and a genuinely nurturing, family-oriented culture runs through everything from the classroom to the school gate. That kind of environment doesn’t show up as a line item on a NAPLAN report, but it’s often the thing that makes strong results stick rather than spike for one cohort.

Not every band is perfect. Grammar and Punctuation sits lowest of the five measured areas in both year groups, at 72% and 83% respectively. Even a school performing well above average has a place it’s still building toward, and that’s worth noting rather than glossing over in a year when the headline numbers are this strong.

For a suburb that doesn’t get much of a spotlight, Parkhill’s 2026 results are the kind of story that deserves one. Families in Ashwood weighing up local primary options now have a genuine data point to back up what plenty of them were already saying about the school’s culture.