Electorate data: Public and private schools (2023)
Dashboard |
Interactive tables |
Interpreting the data |
Video briefing |
Download the data
This data brief presents the number of schools, students and teachers in each NSW electorate from 2009 to 2023 for the 3 school sectors, Catholic, independent and public. Students have been counted on the basis of the location of the school at which they are enrolled and teachers have been counted on the basis of the location of the school at which they are employed.
Dashboard
The dashboard shows that, on average, there has been a trend towards private school education across all NSW electorates. This trend has been most pronounced for high school students. Each electorate has been affected differently. In some electorates, school education has remained predominantly public, while in others it has become increasingly or predominantly private. Where there has been a shift towards private school education, typically it is the independent school sector that has grown the most.
Interactive tables
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Interpreting the data
Data selection
The school, student and teacher data includes all data from Catholic, independent and public primary schools (including Kindergarten to Year 2 schools), secondary schools and combined schools (Kindergarten to Year 12). Special schools (which cater for students with mental or physical disability or impairment, slow learning ability, social or emotional problems, or who are in custody, on remand or in hospital) have not been included in the count of schools, students or teachers. Data for every school in all electorates (including special schools) is available for
download below. Enrolment and teacher data for special schools is often unavailable.
Where a school had a designated head campus in one electorate and sub-campuses in other electorates, the school and its students and teachers were counted once and assigned to the electorate in which the head campus was located.
When a school's category (primary, secondary, combined or special) was left blank in the source data for any year, that school was not counted for that year. A school's category may have been left blank because the school was 'in recess' (temporarily closed) or the school had not commenced operations.
Schools
From 2009 to 2023, across all NSW electorates, the proportion of Catholic schools decreased by 0.6 percentage points, the proportion of independent schools increased by 2.8 percentage points and the proportion of public schools decreased by 2.2 percentage points:
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In 2009, the average number of schools across all NSW electorates was 31, of which 6 (19.4%) were Catholic, 3 (9.7%) were independent and 22 (71%) were public
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In 2023, the average number of schools across all NSW electorates was 32, of which 6 (18.8%) were Catholic, 4 (12.5%) were independent and 22 (68.8%) were public.
Students
From 2009 to 2023, across all NSW electorates, the proportion of primary students in Catholic schools decreased by 1.2 percentage points, the proportion of primary students in independent schools increased by 2.7 percentage points and the proportion of primary students in public schools decreased by 1.5 percentage points:
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In 2009, the average number of primary students across all NSW electorates was 6,551, of which 1,276 (19.5%) were in Catholic schools, 721 (11.0%) were in independent schools and 4,554 (69.5%) were in public schools
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In 2023, the average number of primary students across all NSW electorates was 7,469, of which 1,370 (18.3%) were in Catholic schools, 1,024 (13.7%) were in independent schools and 5,075 (68%) were in public schools.
From 2009 to 2023, across all NSW electorates, the proportion of
secondary students in Catholic schools increased by 0.9%, the proportion of secondary students in independent
schools increased by 3.9% and the proportion of secondary students in public schools decreased by 4.8%:
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In 2009, the average number of secondary students across all NSW electorates was 5,166, of which 898 (17.4%) were in Catholic schools, 1,089 (21.1%) were in independent schools and 3,179 (61.5%) were in public schools
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In 2023, the average number of secondary students across all NSW electorates was 5,846, of which 1,070 (18.3%) were in Catholic schools, 1,461 (25.0%) were in independent schools and 3,315 (56.7%) were in public schools.
The figures represent the actual number of students enrolled at a school, not the Full Time Equivalent (FTE) number of students enrolled at a school. The figures are not a count of students living in an electorate.
Teachers
From 2009 to 2023, across all NSW electorates, the proportion of teachers employed at Catholic schools increased by 1.4 percentage points, the proportion of teachers employed at independent schools increased by 3.1 percentage points and the proportion of teachers employed at public schools decreased by 4.5 percentage points:
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In 2009, the average number of teachers across all NSW electorates was 849, of which 158 (18.6%) were employed at Catholic schools, 173 (20.4%) were employed at independent schools and 518 (61.0%) were employed at public schools
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In 2023, the average number of teachers across all NSW electorates was 1,000, of which 200 (20.0%) were employed at Catholic schools, 235 (23.5%) were employed at independent schools and 565 (56.5%) were employed at public schools.
The figures represent the actual number of teachers employed at a school, not the Full Time Equivalent (FTE) number of teachers employed at a school. The figures are not a count of teachers living in an electorate.
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Video briefing
This lunchtime briefing by the Research Service outlines how to interpret and navigate the data.
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Download the data
The following data for 2009 to 2023 is available for download:
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School, student and teacher data by electorate
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All schools in every electorate, categorised by school sector and school type (including special schools)
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Student numbers (actual, not FTE) for each school in an electorate, including students in special schools where the data is available
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Teacher numbers (actual, not FTE) for each school in an electorate, including teachers employed in special schools where the data is available.
Further reading
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Title: Electorate data: Public and private schools (2023)
Authors: Tom Gotsis and Daniel Montoya
Publication number: Data Brief No. 2024-07
ISSN 2981-8354 (Online)
The NSW Parliamentary Research Service provides impartial research, data and analysis services for members of the NSW Parliament.
© 2024 Except to the extent of the uses permitted under the Copyright Act 1968, no part of this document may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means including information storage and retrieval systems, without the prior consent from the Senior Manager, NSW Parliamentary Research Service, other than by members of the New South Wales Parliament in the course of their official duties.
Any advice on legislation or legal policy issues contained in this publication is provided for use in parliamentary debate and for related parliamentary purposes. This publication is not professional legal opinion.
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