But while some schools are oversubscribed, new figures obtained by the Herald reveal there are now more than 225 public schools sitting at less than 60 per cent capacity. Hundreds of schools have had enrolment declines since 2019.
In local government areas of Waverley and Mosman, no public schools are over their enrolment cap, while in Woollahra, Bayside, Randwick and Lane Cove there are schools with space for 200 or more students each.
Public primary schools in the eastern suburbs – including Rose Bay Public, Clovelly Public and Bondi Beach Public – have seen enrolments plummet more than 20 per cent since 2019 as more parents opt for private education.
In Sydney’s inner south-west, there are 13 schools running below 60 per cent of their enrolment cap. Two sit below 25 per cent: J J Cahill Memorial High School and Georges River College Hurstville Boys Campus. The drop at Hurstville was amplified after a policy change that allowed parents in that catchment to enrol in a nearby co-ed campus.
NSW Secondary Principals Council head Craig Petersen said limits on out-of-area enrolments have not stopped parents from school shopping, where families move houses and suburbs to secure a spot at a sought-after school.
“There needs to be more accurate demographic planning which will mean we are more likely to have an appropriate number of schools in the right locations,” Petersen said. “We need students to go to their local school.”
Jordan Springs Public, which opened in 2021, already has more than 1000 students despite a cap of 624.Credit: AAP
The student caps, introduced in 2019, are based on a school’s permanent buildings and principals cannot accept out-of-area enrolments if they are over, at, or close to their cap. The policy is also designed to try and stop families from flocking to popular schools, while others are left underutilised.
Principals say parents can be attracted to large, high-performing schools – such as Castle Hill High, Cherrybrook Technology High and Killara High, all with 1500-plus students – that are allocated more teachers and can offer more subject choices.
One parent at the bursting-at-the-seams school Northbourne Public in Marsden Park, Mariam Latifi, said her daughter is in one of eight classes in Year 1. She moved to a nearby housing development five years ago.
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“The parking at the school is a struggle, and for working parents to have to leave work early to make sure you can get a park – an hour before school finishes – is so frustrating. You can really feel the school is over-capacity, especially at assemblies or events when the school hall is packed with just one year group and their parents,” said Latifi.
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