36.5% ▲ +26.5%
Lower than 73% of suburb / locality areas.
- 2011: 28.8%
- 2016: 32.3%
- 2021: 36.5%
Share of people whose highest year of school is Year 12 or equivalent.
Forbes · Suburb / Locality
Education & Qualifications in Forbes
How far people went at school, the qualifications they hold and what they studied.
Much lower qualification levels than most similar areas mark the educational landscape of Forbes. Only 11.8% of adults hold a bachelor degree or higher, a figure far below the national average. This trend is mirrored in school completion rates, where few residents finish Year 12 compared to the rest of the state.
Schooling
Highest year of school completed.
Year 12 completion is far below the New South Wales figure, with only 36.5% of people finishing their final school year. This is lower than most areas, and roughly 31% of the population stopped their schooling at Year 10.
Highest year of school
View on map →In Forbes, the largest group is Year 12 at 41%, followed by Year 10 (35%) and Year 9 or below (16%).
Qualifications
Post-school qualifications and degrees.
A bachelor degree or higher is held by only 11.8% of adults, which is far below the national figure. The most common qualification in the area is a Certificate III or IV, held by 36.9% of residents.
11.8% ▲ +43.3%
Lower than 62% of suburb / locality areas.
- 2011: 8.3%
- 2016: 9.2%
- 2021: 11.8%
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 Forbes, Certificate III / IV is the majority at 50%; Bachelor degree is next at 22%.
Field of study
What people studied.
The most common fields of qualification are Engineering at 14.7% and Management and commerce at 13.7%. Education and Health also feature prominently, each accounting for about 10% of qualifications.
Schools
Schools in the area and how many children they serve (ACARA).
Local schools are larger than those in most similar areas, with an average size of 405 students. The area has five schools within 3km and a school advantage score that is much lower than most other areas.
3.15
Lower than 56% of suburb / locality areas.
Schools per 1,000 children aged under 15.
5
Higher than 73% of suburb / locality areas.
Schools serving the area — within 3 km of small areas, or inside larger ones. A measure of access (catchments overlap, so don't add it across areas).
405
Higher than 60% of suburb / locality areas.
Average enrolment per school in the area.
944
Lower than 76% of suburb / locality areas.
Enrolment-weighted average ICSEA — an index of socio-educational advantage, centred near 1000 (context, not a quality ranking).
Schools serving Forbes
5 schools — 2,024 students, average ICSEA 944.
By sector: Government 3 · Catholic 1 · Independent 1
By type: Primary 3 · Secondary 2
| Forbes Public School, Forbes | Government | Primary | 0.6 km | 356 | 940 |
| St Laurence's Parish School, Forbes | Catholic | Primary | 1.4 km | 298 | 992 |
| Forbes North Public School, Forbes | Government | Primary | 2.2 km | 203 | 818 |
| Forbes High School, Forbes | Government | Secondary | 3.0 km | 287 | 848 |
| Red Bend Catholic College, Forbes | Independent | Secondary | 3.8 km | 880 | 989 |
Sources
More for Forbes
Cite this page
Australian Bureau of Statistics. (2021). Education & Qualifications in Forbes [Census of Population and Housing]. CensusAtlas, used under CC BY 4.0. https://censusatlas.au/region/sal/SAL11539/forbes/topic/education