52.7% ▲ +21.9%
Higher than 75% of council (lga) areas.
- 2011: 43.3%
- 2016: 47.2%
- 2021: 52.7%
Share of people whose highest year of school is Year 12 or equivalent.
Ballarat · Council (LGA)
Education & Qualifications in Ballarat
How far people went at school, the qualifications they hold and what they studied.
A gap of 9.1 percentage points separates Ballarat from the Victorian average for Year 12 completion, though the city is seeing a steady climb in education. While levels remain well below the state and national figures, more people are finishing school and gaining degrees than in previous years.
Schooling
Highest year of school completed.
Just over half of residents (52.7%) finished Year 12, a figure that rose 9.5 points since 2011. Despite this growth, the result is still well below both the Victorian and Australian averages.
Highest year of school
View on map →In Ballarat, Year 12 is the majority at 56%; Year 10 is next at 17%.
Qualifications
Post-school qualifications and degrees.
University degrees are becoming more common, with 23.2% of adults holding a bachelor degree or higher. This is much higher than most similar areas, even though it remains well below the national figure.
23.2% ▲ +42.6%
Higher than 78% of council (lga) areas.
- 2011: 16.3%
- 2016: 18.9%
- 2021: 23.2%
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 Ballarat, the largest group is Certificate III / IV at 35%, followed by Bachelor degree (29%) and Advanced diploma / diploma (18%).
Field of study
What people studied.
The most common qualifications are in management and commerce (15.1%), followed by health (13.4%) and society and culture (13.2%).
Schools
Schools in the area and how many children they serve (ACARA).
Ballarat is a major education hub with 49 schools and 22,828 enrolments, which is larger than about 90% of similar areas. Most students attend government schools (63.3%), and the typical school size is much larger than in most other areas.
49
Higher than 86% of council (lga) areas.
Number of schools in the area.
2.30
Lower than 72% of council (lga) areas.
Schools per 1,000 children aged under 15.
22,828
Higher than 86% of council (lga) areas.
Total students enrolled across the area's schools.
476
Higher than 80% of council (lga) areas.
Average enrolment per school in the area.
1,038
Higher than 79% of council (lga) areas.
Enrolment-weighted average ICSEA — an index of socio-educational advantage, centred near 1000 (context, not a quality ranking).
Schools serving Ballarat
49 schools — 22,828 students, average ICSEA 1,038.
By sector: Government 31 · Catholic 14 · Independent 4
By type: Primary 35 · Secondary 8 · Combined 6
| Ballarat Grammar, Wendouree | Independent | Combined | — | 1,989 | 1,120 |
| Ballarat Clarendon College, Ballarat | Independent | Combined | — | 1,896 | 1,172 |
| Phoenix P-12 Community College, Sebastopol | Government | Combined | — | 1,473 | 947 |
| Ballarat High School, Lake Gardens | Government | Secondary | — | 1,461 | 1,016 |
| St Patrick's College, Ballarat | Catholic | Secondary | — | 1,267 | 1,055 |
| Damascus College, Mount Clear | Catholic | Secondary | — | 1,215 | 1,052 |
| Mount Clear College, Mount Clear | Government | Secondary | — | 982 | 996 |
| Loreto College, Ballarat | Catholic | Secondary | — | 948 | 1,073 |
| Mount Rowan Secondary College, Wendouree | Government | Secondary | — | 678 | 938 |
| Delacombe Primary School, Delacombe | Government | Primary | — | 641 | 970 |
| Woodmans Hill Secondary College, Ballarat East | Government | Secondary | — | 602 | 988 |
| Buninyong Primary School, Buninyong | Government | Primary | — | 567 | 1,044 |
| Alfredton Primary School, Alfredton | Government | Primary | — | 527 | 1,009 |
| Lucas Primary School, Lucas | Government | Primary | — | 527 | 1,029 |
| St Francis Xavier School, Ballarat East | Catholic | Primary | — | 482 | 1,071 |
| Ballarat Specialist School, Lake Gardens | Government | Combined | — | 453 | 950 |
| St Thomas More School, Alfredton | Catholic | Primary | — | 431 | 1,087 |
| Ballarat Christian College, Sebastopol | Independent | Combined | — | 406 | 1,058 |
| Black Hill Primary School, Ballarat | Government | Primary | — | 397 | 1,042 |
| Emmaus Catholic Primary School, Mount Clear | Catholic | Primary | — | 362 | 1,088 |
| Miners Rest Primary School, Miners Rest | Government | Primary | — | 353 | 994 |
| Pleasant Street Primary School (Ballarat), Lake Wendouree | Government | Primary | — | 350 | 1,095 |
| Siena Catholic Primary School, Lucas | Catholic | Primary | — | 336 | 1,055 |
| St Columba's School, Ballarat North | Catholic | Primary | — | 334 | 1,090 |
| Ballarat North Primary School, Ballarat | Government | Primary | — | 330 | 1,002 |
| Lumen Christi School, Delacombe | Catholic | Primary | — | 324 | 1,029 |
| Newington Primary School, Ballarat | Government | Primary | — | 278 | 1,007 |
| St Aloysius' School, Redan | Catholic | Primary | — | 254 | 1,022 |
| St Patrick's School, Ballarat | Catholic | Primary | — | 249 | 1,096 |
| St Alipius' Parish School, Ballarat East | Catholic | Primary | — | 248 | 1,052 |
| Canadian Lead Primary School, Ballarat East | Government | Primary | — | 235 | 952 |
| Forest Street Primary School, Wendouree | Government | Primary | — | 232 | 919 |
| Ballarat Primary School (Dana Street), Ballarat | Government | Primary | — | 227 | 1,069 |
| Mount Clear Primary School, Mount Clear | Government | Primary | — | 221 | 991 |
| Caledonian Primary School, Brown Hill | Government | Primary | — | 215 | 1,010 |
| Yuille Park Community College, Wendouree | Government | Combined | — | 209 | 840 |
| St James' School, Sebastopol | Catholic | Primary | — | 166 | 1,034 |
| Mount Pleasant Primary School, Ballarat | Government | Primary | — | 129 | 972 |
| Wendouree Primary School, Wendouree | Government | Primary | — | 116 | 917 |
| Magpie Primary School, Magpie | Government | Primary | — | 103 | 923 |
| Our Lady Help of Christians School, Wendouree | Catholic | Primary | — | 101 | 1,017 |
| Sebastopol Primary School, Sebastopol | Government | Primary | — | 98 | 901 |
| Little Bendigo Primary School, Nerrina | Government | Primary | — | 84 | 986 |
| Macarthur Street Primary School, Soldiers Hill | Government | Primary | — | 83 | 951 |
| Mount Blowhard Primary School, Blowhard | Government | Primary | — | 79 | 1,008 |
| Invermay Primary School, Invermay | Government | Primary | — | 74 | 945 |
| Ballarat Steiner School, Mount Helen | Independent | Primary | — | 64 | 1,076 |
| Warrenheip Primary School, Warrenheip | Government | Primary | — | 32 | 909 |
| Sovereign Hill School, Ballarat | Government | Secondary | — | — | — |
Sources
More for Ballarat
Cite this page
Australian Bureau of Statistics. (2021). Education & Qualifications in Ballarat [Census of Population and Housing]. CensusAtlas, used under CC BY 4.0. https://censusatlas.au/region/lga/LGA20570/ballarat/topic/education