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Fee hikes of $10,000 in five years have failed to dent parents’ enthusiasm for Sydney’s private schools, with numerous high-fee institutions recording a surge in year 7 enrolments.
While most private and Catholic schools in NSW boosted admissions last year, analysts note some public high schools are defying the broader shift of families leaving the state system, as certain public schools record astronomical growth since the pandemic.
Private girls’ school Tara has added an extra 41 students since 2020, while enrolments grew by 35 at MLC School in Burwood, 37 at Pymble Ladies’ College, and 34 at Trinity Grammar in Summer Hill.
Loreto Normanhurst and Knox Grammar in Sydney’s north and Meriden in the inner west also added more than 20 students each to their year 7 cohort.
There have also been some enrolment blips, such as Queenwood in Mosman, where enrolments dropped 15 per cent.
Sydney’s most expensive school, The Scots College in Bellevue Hill, enrolled 20 fewer students in year 7 last year compared to 2020 – representing an almost 10 per cent decline. This year, it is charging almost $55,000 for year 12, up from $39,180 in 2020.
Principal Dr Ian PM Lambert said enrolment patterns varied year-on-year.
“This is a normal feature of operating within a capped framework, as our student numbers are governed by enrolment limits set by Woollahra Municipal Council. Those caps shape overall capacity and cohort size across the college,” Lambert said.
“We do not see evidence that fee increases over recent years have had an impact on year 7 enrolments. Demand for places at the college remains strong, and our enrolment profile continues to reflect families who value the distinctive character-based education we offer.”
Across the state, there has been an exodus of families from public schools as they opt for private and Catholic education, a trend also observed around the country.
University of Sydney education researcher Helen Proctor said schooling trends were often intensely localised, noting that while a broader shift to private schools was under way, numerous Sydney localities were experiencing the opposite.
“You often get the impression that public schools are struggling for students and private schools are chock-a-block,” she said.
She noted north shore school Cammeraygal High was so popular that those living in its zone were being bussed to Mosman High instead.
Other popular high schools with growing year 7 enrolments include Carlingford High, which grew by more than 100 students, as well as Chatswood High and St Ives High, which both added at least 80 students. Granville High has also had strong growth after its principal transformed the once-rough school.
Proctor said while most parents still sent their child to a public school, especially for primary, there was a growing anxiety about sending a child to a state high school.
“They feel that public school would somehow be a risk. That’s a myth; most schools are going to do their level best for your child,” she said.
On the northern beaches, numerous private schools recorded steady or growing enrolments while public options shed students. Narrabeen Sports High lost 95 year 7 students in the five years since 2020, while Mackellar Girls and Pittwater High each had more than 100 fewer students compared to five years ago, with fewer families living in the area as house prices soar.
Under a new policy rolled out this year, the education department will actively flag if there is capacity for out-of-area enrolments so parents can enrol their children in a different school.
Sean Leaver, who researched school choice while at RMIT a decade ago, has surveyed hundreds of parents across the country about their motivations for choosing a school. He said the biggest motivating factor for parents was risk aversion, meaning parents were simply trying to find a school where they thought their child would be safe.
After that, he said academic performance, status, a school’s disciplinary environment as well as its location came into play.
“Parents are not just one homogenous group. For some parents, the building up of life skills is more important to them. For others, they’re really driven by prestige. For others, it’s pure academic performance,” he said.
He said parents responded quickly to a broader perception that a school was successful, noting information around behaviour or staffing levels quickly seeped out to the broader community.
The data showed that for 200 of 269 independent schools, there had been a growth in year 7 enrolments, while 71 of the 116 Catholic schools grew their enrolments.
Only 166 of the 444 public high schools had more enrolments in 2025 than 2020.
The analysis excluded schools that do not offer year 7 or which did not have any year 12 enrolments in 2020.
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