33.6% ▲ +24.8%
Lower than 94% of sub-region (sa3) areas.
- 2011: 26.9%
- 2016: 29.1%
- 2021: 33.6%
Share of people whose highest year of school is Year 12 or equivalent.
Great Lakes · Sub-region (SA3)
Education & Qualifications in Great Lakes
How far people went at school, the qualifications they hold and what they studied.
Fewer adults in Great Lakes have finished high school or university compared to most other regions. Only 33.6% of people here completed Year 12, which is far below the national figure. While school finishing rates have climbed since 2011, the area still sees a much lower share of people with higher degrees than the rest of the state.
Schooling
Highest year of school completed.
Year 12 completion is far below the New South Wales figure of 58.9%, though it has risen 6.7 points since 2011. The most common highest year of schooling is Year 10, finished by 34.9% of residents.
Highest year of school
View on map →Great Lakes splits fairly evenly between Year 10 (38%) and Year 12 (37%), with Year 9 or below at 18%.
Qualifications
Post-school qualifications and degrees.
Only 12.1% of adults hold a bachelor degree or higher, a figure far below the Australian average of 26.3%. This has increased by 4.1 points since 2011, with Certificate III or IV being the most typical qualification at 37.2%.
12.1% ▲ +50.7%
Lower than 81% of sub-region (sa3) areas.
- 2011: 8.0%
- 2016: 9.5%
- 2021: 12.1%
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 Great Lakes, the largest group is Certificate III / IV at 50%, followed by Bachelor degree (20%) and Advanced diploma / diploma (19%).
Field of study
What people studied.
The most common fields of qualification for those with degrees are management and commerce at 15.5%, followed closely by engineering and related fields at 14.8%.
Schools
Schools in the area and how many children they serve (ACARA).
There are 15 schools serving 3,581 students, which is smaller than about 87% of similar areas. Despite this, there are more schools per 1,000 children than in most areas, and the typical school is much smaller than average.
15
Lower than 77% of sub-region (sa3) areas.
Number of schools in the area.
3.37
Higher than 73% of sub-region (sa3) areas.
Schools per 1,000 children aged under 15.
3,581
Lower than 87% of sub-region (sa3) areas.
Total students enrolled across the area's schools.
239
Lower than 78% of sub-region (sa3) areas.
Average enrolment per school in the area.
954
Lower than 83% of sub-region (sa3) areas.
Enrolment-weighted average ICSEA — an index of socio-educational advantage, centred near 1000 (context, not a quality ranking).
Schools serving Great Lakes
15 schools — 3,581 students, average ICSEA 954.
By sector: Government 13 · Catholic 2
By type: Primary 11 · Secondary 3 · Combined 1
| Forster Public School, Forster | Government | Primary | — | 573 | 934 |
| Great Lakes College Forster Campus, Forster | Government | Secondary | — | 478 | 936 |
| Great Lakes College Tuncurry Campus, Tuncurry | Government | Secondary | — | 466 | 949 |
| Tuncurry Public School, Tuncurry | Government | Primary | — | 366 | 930 |
| Great Lakes College Senior Campus, Tuncurry | Government | Secondary | — | 349 | 988 |
| Holy Name Primary School, Forster | Catholic | Primary | — | 345 | 1,014 |
| Bulahdelah Central School, Bulahdelah | Government | Combined | — | 289 | 902 |
| Pacific Palms Public School, Boomerang Beach | Government | Primary | — | 247 | 1,007 |
| Nabiac Public School, Nabiac | Government | Primary | — | 165 | 938 |
| Booral Public School, Booral | Government | Primary | — | 84 | 938 |
| St Joseph's Primary School, Bulahdelah | Catholic | Primary | — | 72 | 980 |
| Stroud Public School, Stroud | Government | Primary | — | 71 | 931 |
| Bungwahl Public School, Bungwahl | Government | Primary | — | 36 | 1,037 |
| Coolongolook Public School, Coolongolook | Government | Primary | — | 31 | 950 |
| Stroud Road Public School, Stroud Road | Government | Primary | — | 9 | 948 |
Sources
More for Great Lakes
Cite this page
Australian Bureau of Statistics. (2021). Education & Qualifications in Great Lakes [Census of Population and Housing]. CensusAtlas, used under CC BY 4.0. https://censusatlas.au/region/sa3/10801/great-lakes/topic/education