Enrolment overhaul reveals Sydney’s easiest and hardest schools to get into

Parents will be able to more easily shop around for a public school this year with principals to publicise their enrolment capacity as the Department of Education attempts to claw back the exodus of families opting for private schools.

Under the new system, the department is softening its hardline stance on out-of-area enrolments and classifying schools into three different categories that reflect how much space they have for new students.

“From 2026, NSW public schools will proactively share their availability of places with local communities, helping parents plan their children’s schooling if they wish to consider a non-local school,” a Department of Education spokesperson said.

“We are working hard to ensure more families have access to a world-class public education, including supporting families that wish to explore a non-local public school. All students are still guaranteed a place at their local in-area school.”

The change comes as the department has set a goal of lifting its enrolment share from 62.9 per cent of children in 2023 to 65.5 per cent by 2034.

This year’s lists reveal top-performing schools such as Homebush Boys and Strathfield Girls have availability for non-local enrolments.

The new system is a departure from a 2019 policy, which sought to crack down on out-of-area enrolments by issuing principals with population limits and restricting the deployment of demountables for schools that breached their cap by admitting pupils living outside a catchment.

The publication of the lists will not change the enrolment policy that guarantees children living within a school’s catchment a place at their local school.

The chief executive of the state’s P and C Federation, Gemma Quinn, welcomed the move because it would arm parents with more transparency, information and choice.

“I don’t see school shopping in and of itself as a negative,” she said.

“I think the fact there’s some transparency around where you’re likely to get into a school is going to be really welcomed by parents.

“In some areas families already make big financial trade-offs to live near a preferred public school. Transparent information about capacity can reduce pressure, broaden options, and support more practical, informed decisions.”

She said clear information about capacity is respectful of parents’ time and reduces the stress when planning a child’s education.

“As a parent in a school with room to grow, I’m excited to see what this ease and transparency of information will bring,” she said.

“For many families, schooling decisions start with housing decisions. If parents can see where there may be vacancies along a realistic travel route, it can change the options available to them and help them plan their child’s future with more certainty.”

The change comes after the government expanded numerous co-ed high school catchments across Sydney as part of a policy shift designed to give every child in the state access to co-ed schooling by 2027.

Three new co-education schools will open in 2026 – Asquith High School, which was formerly Asquith Girls; Hornsby High School, which was formerly Asquith Boys; and Bayside High School, formerly Moorefield Girls and James Cook High.

Other enrolment changes introduced this year include the catchment for Cammeraygal High in Crows Nest being combined with Mosman High into a single “lower north shore enrolment zone” for students entering year 7 who live in Cammeray, Northbridge, Castlecrag and Naremburn.

“New students in the Lower North Shore Enrolment Zone will be eligible to submit a local enrolment application to Cammeraygal High School or Mosman High School,” parents were told.

President of the Northern District Council of P and Cs, David Hope, said the shared enrolment zone appeared to be the result of long-term planning failure to provide enough schools in the area.

“They have now provided the partially fluid boundaries between those two schools because they haven’t got the capacity for students to attend a school in their local community. They’ve had the last 15 years to sort this out,” he said.

More broadly, Hope noted the latest enrolment change came after a policy in 2019 saw the introduction of harder boundaries to combat school shopping.

“They set hard boundaries, which resulted in some additional parents opting for private and Catholic schools, but the department doesn’t like losing market share.”

He said the department must also focus on lifting the reputation of schools with a negative reputation.

“Sometimes the perceptions are not justified. Other times it is an old perception which persists. The department has done quite a bit to improve schools which aren’t as popular.

“But they don’t make staff adjustments because the school is not performing, they work around that. And that is not always in the best interest of the students or aligned with the department’s value statements.”

Most public school students will return to class on February 2.

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