41.2% ▲ +31.7%
Lower than 52% of council (lga) areas.
- 2011: 31.3%
- 2016: 36.0%
- 2021: 41.2%
Share of people whose highest year of school is Year 12 or equivalent.
Shellharbour · Council (LGA)
Education & Qualifications in Shellharbour
How far people went at school, the qualifications they hold and what they studied.
Far fewer people in Shellharbour have finished high school or earned a degree compared to the rest of New South Wales. While 41.2% of residents completed Year 12, this is 18 points lower than the state and national figures. This trend is improving, however, as high school completion and university degrees have both risen since 2011.
Schooling
Highest year of school completed.
Only 41.2% of people finished Year 12, which is far below the national figure of 58.8%. This is a significant improvement from 2011, when the rate was 31.3%. About 33.1% of residents stopped their schooling at Year 10.
Highest year of school
View on map →In Shellharbour, the largest group is Year 12 at 44%, followed by Year 10 (35%) and Year 9 or below (14%).
Qualifications
Post-school qualifications and degrees.
Adults with a bachelor degree or higher make up 13.6% of the population, which is far below the New South Wales figure of 27.8%. The most common qualification is a Certificate III or IV, held by 41.2% of residents.
13.6% ▲ +66.9%
Higher than 55% of council (lga) areas.
- 2011: 8.2%
- 2016: 10.4%
- 2021: 13.6%
Share of people aged 15+ whose highest qualification is a bachelor degree or above (incl. graduate and postgraduate).
Highest qualification level
View on map →In Shellharbour, the largest group is Certificate III / IV at 50%, followed by Bachelor degree (20%) and Advanced diploma / diploma (20%).
Field of study
What people studied.
Qualifications in this area are most often in Engineering and related fields (18.1%) or Management and commerce (18.0%). Other common areas of study include Society and culture at 12.4% and Health at 10.1%.
Schools
Schools in the area and how many children they serve (ACARA).
Shellharbour has 27 schools with a total of 12,802 enrolments, which is larger than about 82% of similar areas. Most students attend government schools (74.1%), and the average school size of 492 is much higher than most areas.
27
Higher than 78% of council (lga) areas.
Number of schools in the area.
1.85
Lower than 83% of council (lga) areas.
Schools per 1,000 children aged under 15.
12,802
Higher than 81% of council (lga) areas.
Total students enrolled across the area's schools.
492
Higher than 82% of council (lga) areas.
Average enrolment per school in the area.
994
Higher than 64% of council (lga) areas.
Enrolment-weighted average ICSEA — an index of socio-educational advantage, centred near 1000 (context, not a quality ranking).
Schools serving Shellharbour
27 schools — 12,802 students, average ICSEA 994.
By sector: Government 20 · Catholic 5 · Independent 2
By type: Primary 17 · Secondary 6 · Combined 4
| Corpus Christi Catholic High School, Oak Flats | Catholic | Secondary | — | 1,126 | 1,045 |
| Warilla High School, Barrack Heights | Government | Secondary | — | 1,020 | 968 |
| Shellharbour Anglican College, Dunmore | Independent | Combined | — | 981 | 1,099 |
| Albion Park High School, Albion Park | Government | Secondary | — | 900 | 964 |
| St Joseph's Catholic High School, Albion Park | Catholic | Secondary | — | 736 | 1,029 |
| Oak Flats High School, Oak Flats | Government | Secondary | — | 648 | 932 |
| Mount Terry Public School, Albion Park | Government | Primary | — | 635 | 982 |
| Lake Illawarra High School, Lake Illawarra | Government | Secondary | — | 542 | 894 |
| Flinders Public School, Flinders | Government | Primary | — | 518 | 1,004 |
| Albion Park Public School, Albion Park | Government | Primary | — | 516 | 972 |
| Calderwood Christian School, Albion Park | Independent | Combined | — | 504 | 1,056 |
| Tullimbar Public School, Tullimbar | Government | Primary | — | 483 | 1,005 |
| Shell Cove Public School, Shell Cove | Government | Primary | — | 463 | 1,049 |
| Oak Flats Public School, Oak Flats | Government | Primary | — | 416 | 959 |
| Nazareth Catholic Primary School, Shellharbour City | Catholic | Primary | — | 413 | 1,052 |
| Stella Maris Catholic Primary School, Shellharbour | Catholic | Primary | — | 405 | 1,050 |
| St Paul's Catholic Primary School, Albion Park | Catholic | Primary | — | 399 | 1,037 |
| Shellharbour Public School, Shellharbour | Government | Primary | — | 368 | 999 |
| Albion Park Rail Public School, Albion Park | Government | Primary | — | 346 | 894 |
| Warilla Public School, Warilla | Government | Primary | — | 279 | 937 |
| Balarang Public School, Oak Flats | Government | Primary | — | 268 | 974 |
| Barrack Heights Public School, Barrack Heights | Government | Primary | — | 192 | 873 |
| Mount Warrigal Public School, Warilla | Government | Primary | — | 185 | 885 |
| Lake Illawarra South Public School, Lake Illawarra | Government | Primary | — | 177 | 954 |
| Warilla North Public School, Warilla | Government | Primary | — | 167 | 872 |
| Peterborough School, Warilla | Government | Combined | — | 115 | 938 |
| Illawarra Environmental Education Centre, Dunmore | Government | Combined | — | — | — |
Sources
More for Shellharbour
Cite this page
Australian Bureau of Statistics. (2021). Education & Qualifications in Shellharbour [Census of Population and Housing]. CensusAtlas, used under CC BY 4.0. https://censusatlas.au/region/lga/LGA16900/shellharbour/topic/education