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Northern Beaches · Council (LGA)

Education & Qualifications in Northern Beaches

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

Nearly 38% of adults in Northern Beaches hold a bachelor degree or higher, a figure far above the national average. This is a highly educated area where school completion rates are among the highest in the region. These strong academic outcomes are reflected across the local school system.

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📍 Northern Beaches, Council (LGA)

Where Northern Beaches sits — Adults with a bachelor degree or higher

37.7% —

All council (lga) areas, 2021. The marker is Northern Beaches — higher than 91% of areas.

Northern Beaches37.7%
Greater Sydney 33.3%
New South Wales 27.8%
Australia 26.3%

Schooling

Highest year of school completed.

School completion is very high here, with 73.1% of people finishing Year 12. This is far above the New South Wales figure of 58.9% and has risen by 5.4 points since 2016.

Completed Year 12

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73.1% —

Higher than 93% 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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In Northern Beaches, Year 12 is the majority at 77%; Year 10 is next at 15%.

Year 12 73.1% Year 10 14.1% Year 9 or below 4.3% Year 11 4.0%

Qualifications

Post-school qualifications and degrees.

Higher education is common, as 37.7% of adults have a bachelor degree or more. This is well above the state average and rose 5.4 points over the last five years.

Adults with a bachelor degree or higher

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37.7% —

Higher than 91% of council (lga) areas.

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

Highest qualification level

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In Northern Beaches, the largest group is Bachelor degree at 42%, followed by Certificate III / IV (19%) and Advanced diploma / diploma (19%).

Bachelor degree 36.3% Certificate III / IV 17.0% Advanced diploma / diploma 16.2% Postgraduate degree 12.6% Graduate diploma / certificate 3.9% Certificate I / II 1.3%

Field of study

What people studied.

The most common qualifications are in management and commerce, held by 27.2% of people, followed by society and culture at 12.7%.

Schools

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

The area has 82 schools with a total of 39,053 enrolments. While the average school advantage score is among the highest for similar areas, there are much fewer schools per 1,000 children than in most other places.

Average school ICSEA

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1,117

Higher than 94% 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 Northern Beaches — hover a marker for details. Open the full map →

Schools serving Northern Beaches

82 schools — 39,053 students, average ICSEA 1,117.

By sector: Government 47 · Independent 20 · Catholic 15

By type: Primary 53 · Secondary 15 · Combined 14
St Augustine's College Sydney, Brookvale Independent Combined — 1,580 1,141
St Luke's Grammar School, Dee Why Independent Combined — 1,481 1,178
Northern Beaches Christian School, Terrey Hills Independent Combined — 1,228 1,134
Oxford Falls Grammar School, Oxford Falls Independent Combined — 1,201 1,137
Northern Beaches Secondary College Cromer Campus, Cromer Government Secondary — 1,157 1,056
Northern Beaches Secondary College Balgowlah Boys Campus, Balgowlah Government Secondary — 1,100 1,115
Mater Maria Catholic College, Warriewood Catholic Secondary — 1,098 1,085
Northern Beaches Secondary College Mackellar Girls Campus, Manly Vale Government Secondary — 1,023 1,115
Stella Maris College, Manly Independent Secondary — 1,006 1,135
Pittwater House Schools, Collaroy Independent Combined — 1,002 1,158
Killarney Heights High School, Killarney Heights Government Secondary — 969 1,132
Covenant Christian School, Belrose Independent Combined — 884 1,155
Harbord Public School, Freshwater Government Primary — 881 1,137
Pittwater High School, Mona Vale Government Secondary — 881 1,071
Barrenjoey High School, Avalon Beach Government Secondary — 865 1,081
Narrabeen Sports High School, North Narrabeen Government Secondary — 794 1,042
Davidson High School, Frenchs Forest Government Secondary — 790 1,089
The Forest High School, Frenchs Forest Government Secondary — 769 1,062
Northern Beaches Secondary College Manly Campus, North Curl Curl Government Secondary — 766 1,217
Manly West Public School, Balgowlah Government Primary — 761 1,147
Curl Curl North Public School, North Curl Curl Government Primary — 699 1,116
Mona Vale Public School, Mona Vale Government Primary — 671 1,096
Avalon Public School, Avalon Beach Government Primary — 666 1,094
Killarney Heights Public School, Killarney Heights Government Primary — 661 1,150
Balgowlah Heights Public School, Balgowlah Government Primary — 651 1,177
Northern Beaches Secondary College Freshwater Senior Campus, Freshwater Government Secondary — 647 1,098
Narrabeen North Public School, North Narrabeen Government Primary — 580 1,076
Mimosa Public School, Frenchs Forest Government Primary — 562 1,119
Newport Public School, Newport Government Primary — 556 1,093
Manly Vale Public School, Manly Vale Government Primary — 553 1,129
Manly Village Public School, Manly Government Primary — 532 1,151
Narraweena Public School, Narraweena Government Primary — 511 1,059
Dee Why Public School, Dee Why Government Primary — 478 1,028
Cromer Public School, Cromer Government Primary — 468 1,091
St Paul's Catholic College, Manly Catholic Secondary — 468 1,091
Forestville Public School, Forestville Government Primary — 462 1,141
Beacon Hill Public School, Beacon Hill Government Primary — 459 1,099
Collaroy Plateau Public School, Collaroy Plateau Government Primary — 452 1,109
Wheeler Heights Public School, Collaroy Plateau Government Primary — 430 1,086
Sacred Heart Catholic Primary School, Mona Vale Catholic Primary — 417 1,104
Wakehurst Public School, Belrose Government Primary — 407 1,126
Allambie Heights Public School, Allambie Heights Government Primary — 406 1,138
Seaforth Public School, Seaforth Government Primary — 394 1,165
Elanora Heights Public School, Elanora Heights Government Primary — 387 1,087
Balgowlah North Public School, North Balgowlah Government Primary — 381 1,169
German International School Sydney, Terrey Hills Independent Combined — 380 1,158
Narrabeen Lakes Public School, Narrabeen Government Primary — 364 1,091
Bilgola Plateau Public School, Bilgola Plateau Government Primary — 344 1,121
St Mary's Catholic Primary School, Manly Catholic Primary — 330 1,159
Galstaun College, Ingleside Independent Combined — 328 1,046
Brookvale Public School, Brookvale Government Primary — 306 1,075
Our Lady of Good Counsel Catholic Primary School, Forestville Catholic Primary — 282 1,145
John Colet School, Belrose Independent Primary — 275 1,210
St John the Apostle Catholic Primary School, Narraweena Catholic Primary — 247 1,091
St Cecilia's Catholic Primary School, Balgowlah Catholic Primary — 232 1,168
St Rose Catholic Primary School, Collaroy Plateau Catholic Primary — 227 1,149
Frenchs Forest Public School, Frenchs Forest Government Primary — 218 1,123
St Joseph's Catholic Primary School, Narrabeen Catholic Primary — 195 1,102
Sydney Japanese International School, Terrey Hills Independent Primary — 190 1,137
Belrose Public School, Belrose Government Primary — 186 1,111
Terrey Hills Public School, Terrey Hills Government Primary — 183 1,100
Kamaroi Rudolf Steiner School, Belrose Independent Primary — 180 1,092
St Kevin's Catholic Primary School, Dee Why Catholic Primary — 178 1,085
St John the Baptist Catholic Primary School, Freshwater Catholic Primary — 163 1,134
Maria Regina Catholic Primary School, Avalon Beach Catholic Primary — 154 1,102
St Kieran's Catholic Primary School, Manly Vale Catholic Primary — 141 1,122
St Martin's Catholic Primary School, Davidson Catholic Primary — 136 1,131
Aspect Vern Barnett School, Forestville Independent Combined — 97 1,107
A.G.B.U. Alexander Primary School, Duffys Forest Independent Primary — 78 962
EOC Broken Bay, Davidson Catholic Primary — 70 1,059
Kinma School, Terrey Hills Independent Primary — 67 1,096
Yanginanook School, Belrose Independent Combined — 65 1,051
Fisher Road School, Dee Why Government Combined — 62 1,050
Barrenjoey Montessori School, Avalon Independent Primary — 50 1,115
Forestville Montessori School, Forestville Independent Primary — 49 1,171
Farmhouse Montessori School, North Balgowlah Independent Primary — 37 1,165
The Beach School, Allambie Heights Government Secondary — 35 1,039
Arranounbai School, Frenchs Forest Government Combined — 34 1,073
Kambora Public School, Davidson Government Primary — 32 1,101
Karuna Montessori School, Narraweena Independent Primary — 4 —
Royal Far West School, Manly Government Combined — — —
Stewart House School, Curl Curl Government Combined — — —

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 Northern Beaches [Census of Population and Housing]. CensusAtlas, used under CC BY 4.0. https://censusatlas.au/region/lga/LGA15990/northern-beaches/topic/education