34.4% ▲ +60.1%
Lower than 78% of suburb / locality areas.
- 2011: 21.5%
- 2016: 27.9%
- 2021: 34.4%
Share of people whose highest year of school is Year 12 or equivalent.
Kempsey · Suburb / Locality
Education & Qualifications in Kempsey
How far people went at school, the qualifications they hold and what they studied.
Certificate III or IV qualifications are the most common high-level achievement in Kempsey, where 34.8% of adults hold one. The area faces significant educational gaps, with only 34.4% of residents completing Year 12, a figure far below the national average.
Schooling
Highest year of school completed.
Only 34.4% of people in Kempsey finished Year 12, which is far below the 58.8% national figure. This is much lower than most similar areas, with 20.1% of residents leaving school in Year 9 or earlier.
Highest year of school
View on map →In Kempsey, the largest group is Year 12 at 39%, followed by Year 10 (33%) and Year 9 or below (23%).
Qualifications
Post-school qualifications and degrees.
Higher education is uncommon here, as only 8% of adults have a bachelor degree or higher. This is far below the New South Wales figure of 27.8% and much lower than most other areas.
8.0% ▲ +193.7%
Lower than 78% of suburb / locality areas.
- 2011: 2.7%
- 2016: 4.5%
- 2021: 8.0%
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 Kempsey, Certificate III / IV is the majority at 52%; Advanced diploma / diploma is next at 20%.
Field of study
What people studied.
For those with qualifications, the most common fields are management, commerce, society, and culture, each at 12.9%. Engineering and health follow at 9% each.
Schools
Schools in the area and how many children they serve (ACARA).
Kempsey has 10 schools within 3 km, which is more than about 82% of similar areas. However, the average school advantage score of 898 is much lower than most other areas.
10
Higher than 79% 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).
332
Higher than 51% of suburb / locality areas.
Average enrolment per school in the area.
898
Lower than 87% of suburb / locality areas.
Enrolment-weighted average ICSEA — an index of socio-educational advantage, centred near 1000 (context, not a quality ranking).
Schools serving Kempsey
10 schools — 3,319 students, average ICSEA 898.
By sector: Government 6 · Catholic 2 · Independent 2
By type: Primary 5 · Secondary 4 · Combined 1
| Kempsey East Public School, Kempsey | Government | Primary | 2.5 km | 180 | 875 |
| St Joseph's Primary School, West Kempsey | Catholic | Primary | 2.6 km | 332 | 991 |
| Kempsey High School, Kempsey | Government | Secondary | 2.9 km | 584 | 848 |
| St Paul's College, West Kempsey | Catholic | Secondary | 3.0 km | 641 | 999 |
| Kempsey West Public School, West Kempsey | Government | Primary | 3.1 km | 422 | 794 |
| Frederickton Public School, Frederickton | Government | Primary | 3.9 km | 130 | 890 |
| Melville High School, Kempsey | Government | Secondary | 4.3 km | 355 | 849 |
| Kempsey South Public School, Kempsey | Government | Primary | 4.4 km | 129 | 767 |
| Kempsey Adventist School, Kempsey | Independent | Combined | 4.8 km | 458 | 953 |
| Macleay Vocational College, South Kempsey | Independent | Secondary | 5.1 km | 88 | 787 |
Sources
More for Kempsey
Cite this page
Australian Bureau of Statistics. (2021). Education & Qualifications in Kempsey [Census of Population and Housing]. CensusAtlas, used under CC BY 4.0. https://censusatlas.au/region/sal/SAL12103/kempsey/topic/education