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Cessnock · Council (LGA)

Education & Qualifications in Cessnock

How far people went at school, the qualifications they hold and what they studied.

Nearly half of adults in Cessnock hold a Certificate III or IV, marking this as the most common qualification in the area. While educational attainment is far below the state and national figures, the proportion of people finishing Year 12 has risen by 8.9 percentage points since 2011.

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📍 Cessnock, Council (LGA)

Where Cessnock sits — Adults with a bachelor degree or higher

9.6% ▲ +44.5%

All council (lga) areas, 2021. The marker is Cessnock — lower than 78% of areas.

Cessnock9.6%
Rest of NSW 17.8%
New South Wales 27.8%
Australia 26.3%

Schooling

Highest year of school completed.

Only 33.8% of residents completed Year 12, which is far below the New South Wales figure of 58.9%. The most common highest year of school finished is Year 10, at 34.5%.

Completed Year 12

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33.8% ▲ +35.8%

Lower than 82% of council (lga) areas.

Share of people whose highest year of school is Year 12 or equivalent.

Highest year of school

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Cessnock splits fairly evenly between Year 10 (38%) and Year 12 (37%), with Year 9 or below at 16%.

Year 10 34.5% Year 12 33.8% Year 9 or below 14.7% Year 11 7.8%

Qualifications

Post-school qualifications and degrees.

Bachelor degrees or higher are held by 9.6% of adults, a figure far below the Australian average of 26.3%. This has improved slightly, rising 3.0 percentage points since 2011.

Adults with a bachelor degree or higher

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9.6% ▲ +44.5%

Lower than 78% of council (lga) areas.

Share of people aged 15+ whose highest qualification is a bachelor degree or above (incl. graduate and postgraduate).

Field of study

What people studied.

Engineering and related fields are the most common qualifications at 20%, followed by management and commerce at 15.6% and society and culture at 10.2%.

Schools

Schools in the area and how many children they serve (ACARA).

Cessnock has 29 schools with 9,107 enrolments, though there are fewer schools per 1,000 children than in most areas. The vast majority of students attend government schools (82.8%) and 86.2% of schools are primary.

Average school ICSEA

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933

Lower than 73% of council (lga) areas.

Enrolment-weighted average ICSEA — an index of socio-educational advantage, centred near 1000 (context, not a quality ranking).

Schools in and around Cessnock — hover a marker for details. Open the full map →

Schools serving Cessnock

29 schools — 9,107 students, average ICSEA 933.

By sector: Government 24 · Catholic 4 · Independent 1

By type: Primary 25 · Secondary 3 · Combined 1
St Philip's Christian College - Cessnock, Nulkaba Independent Combined — 1,276 1,032
Mount View High School, Cessnock West Government Secondary — 930 911
Kurri Kurri High School, Kurri Kurri Government Secondary — 917 894
Cessnock High School, Cessnock Government Secondary — 616 892
Kurri Kurri Public School, Kurri Kurri Government Primary — 574 891
Branxton Public School, Branxton Government Primary — 540 949
Cessnock West Public School, Cessnock Government Primary — 399 884
Nulkaba Public School, Nulkaba Government Primary — 389 931
Rosary Park Catholic School, Branxton Catholic Primary — 375 1,002
Bellbird Public School, Bellbird Government Primary — 355 907
St Patrick's Primary School, Cessnock Catholic Primary — 347 975
Cessnock Public School, Cessnock Government Primary — 276 876
Weston Public School, Weston Government Primary — 270 882
Abermain Public School, Abermain Government Primary — 257 917
Cessnock East Public School, Cessnock Government Primary — 215 835
Greta Public School, Greta Government Primary — 186 935
Holy Spirit Primary School, Kurri Kurri Catholic Primary — 186 994
Holy Spirit Infants School, Abermain Catholic Primary — 122 991
Pelaw Main Public School, Pelaw Main Government Primary — 115 901
Ellalong Public School, Ellalong Government Primary — 114 903
Kearsley Public School, Kearsley Government Primary — 114 897
Kitchener Public School, Kitchener Government Primary — 113 930
Millfield Public School, Millfield Government Primary — 101 932
Paxton Public School, Paxton Government Primary — 80 926
Black Hill Public School, Black Hill Government Primary — 67 982
Mulbring Public School, Mulbring Government Primary — 56 954
Stanford Merthyr Infants School, Stanford Merthyr Government Primary — 54 950
Laguna Public School, Laguna Government Primary — 52 969
Congewai Public School, Congewai Government Primary — 11 888

Sources

  • Census of Population and Housing — Australian Bureau of Statistics, 2021 (CC BY 4.0).
  • Australian Schools List — Australian Curriculum, Assessment and Reporting Authority (ACARA), 2025 (CC BY 4.0).

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Cite this page

Australian Bureau of Statistics. (2021). Education & Qualifications in Cessnock [Census of Population and Housing]. CensusAtlas, used under CC BY 4.0. https://censusatlas.au/region/lga/LGA11720/cessnock/topic/education