Students across South Australia are heading to school today for the last time in 2020, ahead of the six-week summer holiday period.
This year saw an estimated 275,000 students attend schools across the state, as well as around 20,000 preschool enrolments, in what was truly a year like no other.
Students were supported by around 46,000 educators and staff working in both government and non-government schools.
Education Minister John Gardner said schools have shown incredible resilience and leadership, and there have been many achievements to celebrate this year.
"This year has truly been a year like no other and our students, educators and support staff have stared down the challenges presented by the coronavirus pandemic and pushed through with incredible dedication and resilience," said Minister Gardner.
"2020 has been a challenging year for everyone, yet our schools and preschools have continued to deliver care and education services to more than 190,000 children and young people despite the disruption of a global pandemic.
"South Australian students have benefitted from the least disruption to their learning this year of any students in Australia, and this is in no small part due to the outstanding work of our educators across the state.
"We now have shovels in the ground and construction underway at more than $1 billion worth of education builds, as part of our record breaking $1.3 billion program that is creating thousands of jobs across South Australia while delivering state-of-the-art facilities to schools, addressing the capacity pressures on our schools and enabling the transition of Year 7 into high school.
"While there was no NAPLAN this year, our Year 1 students demonstrated that a renewed emphasis on the instruction of phonics in the classroom is lifting literacy outcomes, with significant improvement achieved across all student groups in this years Year 1 Phonics Check.
"We had three pilot schools welcome Year 7s into high school for the first time, which was received with great enthusiasm from families. Reports of the pilot have been overwhelmingly positive, and we are looking forward to welcoming even more Year 7s at these schools in 2021.
"This year also saw the completion of Stage 1 of the Marshall Government's rollout of high speed internet to every school in South Australia. This is giving every student, regardless of where they live, access to internet at speeds of up to 1000 times faster than before. Work is underway to also deliver internet upgrades to every preschool across the state.
"Our educators and support staff have done a truly amazing job this year, and they now have the opportunity to enjoy a well-earned break over the Christmas and New Year period, hopefully enjoying some rest, relaxation and time with their loved ones."
