West Moreton Anglican College

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West Moreton Anglican College school crest.

West Moreton Anglican College is a Kindergarten to Year 12 Anglican Church of Australia school, located in the western suburbs of Ipswich, Queensland, Australia. Founded in 1993, and opened for students in January 1994, the school now caters for over 1,600 students, and boasts over 250 teaching and ancillary staff.

Broken up into three sub-campuses on the 38-hectare block in the heart of the western Ipswich suburb of Karrabin, the school contains a Junior, Middle and Senior school system, with an on-site Kindergarten. Junior School ranges from Prepatory (Pre-school) to Year 6, Middle School continues from Year 7 to Year 9, and Senior School consists of students in Years 10-12. The school has five sporting 'houses', each named for a prominent Australian poet, and each with a specific colour: Gilmore (purple), Lawson (blue), Mackellar (green), Paterson (yellow) and Wright (red). Every student belongs to one of these houses, and they compete in many events such as sports carnivals (athletic and swimming), cross countries, as well as theatre and choral competitions.

WMAC, or 'Westmac' as it is popularly known, has over 20 buildings to date. These are used as primary and secondary classrooms, as well as many specialist buildings, such as science, drama, manual arts and information technology. Other buildings include a large open-air chapel to symbolise the school's Anglican religion, and a large agriculural complex which houses livestock, various plantations, and the school's equestrian centre. The largest educational building is the Claridge Centre, named for founding principal Paul Claridge (who resigned in 2006). The centre is three stories tall, consisting of a library, five computer classrooms, several normal classrooms, plus additional offices and staffrooms.

The school has also played host to many visiting schools and exchange students including ones from Japan, Germany, Brazil and the U.S.A. However the majority of students visit from WMAC's "sister schools" in China. Westmac has strong ties with Chinese culture; indeed, Mandarin Chinese is taught as a compulsory subject throughout the primary curriculum, and students have the option of choosing to continue studying it in their later education.

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The school boasts impressive academic results within the graduating grade, with at least one OP1 (Overall Position) each year, and at least 25% of the rest of the grade within the top 15% of the state (OPs 1 through 6). In 2005, 83% of OP eligible students were awarded an OP 1 through 15, and 98% of WMAC QTAC applicants received an offer.[1]