47.3% ▲ +28.4%
Higher than 56% of suburb / locality areas.
- 2011: 36.8%
- 2016: 41.0%
- 2021: 47.3%
Share of people whose highest year of school is Year 12 or equivalent.
Thornton · Suburb / Locality
Education & Qualifications in Thornton
How far people went at school, the qualifications they hold and what they studied.
Nearly half of all qualified adults in Thornton hold a Certificate III or IV, making it the most common qualification in the area. While many residents have trade certificates, the suburb's overall education levels are far below the state and national figures.
Schooling
Highest year of school completed.
Fewer than half of residents have finished Year 12, which is far below the 58.9% seen across New South Wales. About 32% of people stopped their schooling at Year 10.
Highest year of school
View on map →In Thornton, the largest group is Year 12 at 49%, followed by Year 10 (33%) and Year 9 or below (10%).
Qualifications
Post-school qualifications and degrees.
Only 14.6% of adults have a bachelor degree or higher. This is far below the national figure of 26.3% and the state average of 27.8%.
14.6% ▲ +49.5%
Higher than 50% of suburb / locality areas.
- 2011: 9.8%
- 2016: 10.9%
- 2021: 14.6%
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 Thornton, Certificate III / IV is the majority at 51%; Bachelor degree is next at 21%.
Field of study
What people studied.
The most common fields of study are engineering at 21.1% and management and commerce at 20%. Society and culture, health, and education make up the next most frequent qualifications.
Schools
Schools in the area and how many children they serve (ACARA).
Thornton has 19 schools within 3km, which is more than 89% of similar areas. While schools are larger than most, there are among the lowest number of schools per 1,000 children.
0.87
Lower than 95% of suburb / locality areas.
Schools per 1,000 children aged under 15.
19
Higher than 86% 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).
448
Higher than 65% of suburb / locality areas.
Average enrolment per school in the area.
999
Higher than 55% of suburb / locality areas.
Enrolment-weighted average ICSEA — an index of socio-educational advantage, centred near 1000 (context, not a quality ranking).
Schools serving Thornton
19 schools — 8,518 students, average ICSEA 999.
By sector: Government 11 · Independent 5 · Catholic 3
By type: Primary 9 · Combined 7 · Secondary 3
| Aspect Hunter School, Thornton | Independent | Combined | 0.3 km | 290 | 1,008 |
| Thornton Public School, Thornton | Government | Primary | 0.7 km | 826 | 974 |
| Francis Greenway High School, Beresfield | Government | Secondary | 2.5 km | 742 | 912 |
| Beresfield Public School, Beresfield | Government | Primary | 2.5 km | 262 | 918 |
| Woodberry Public School, Woodberry | Government | Primary | 3.1 km | 221 | 817 |
| Woodberry Learning Centre, Woodberry | Government | Combined | 3.2 km | 26 | 844 |
| Metford Public School, Metford | Government | Primary | 3.3 km | 265 | 887 |
| Hunter River Community School, Metford | Government | Combined | 3.3 km | 70 | 958 |
| St Aloysius Catholic Primary School, Chisholm | Catholic | Primary | 3.4 km | 614 | 1,064 |
| Our Lady of Lourdes Primary School, Tarro | Catholic | Primary | 3.4 km | 260 | 1,013 |
| Maitland Christian School, Metford | Independent | Combined | 3.5 km | 832 | 1,047 |
| Arise Christian College, Metford | Independent | Combined | 3.5 km | 61 | 971 |
| St Bede's Catholic College, Chisholm | Catholic | Secondary | 3.6 km | 910 | 1,030 |
| Tarro Public School, Tarro | Government | Primary | 3.7 km | 115 | 892 |
| Ashtonfield Public School, Ashtonfield | Government | Primary | 3.8 km | 514 | 1,008 |
| Hunter Valley Grammar School, Ashtonfield | Independent | Combined | 4.3 km | 1,161 | 1,134 |
| OneSchool Global NSW - Maitland, East Maitland | Independent | Combined | 4.9 km | 108 | 975 |
| Maitland High School, East Maitland | Government | Secondary | 5.7 km | 958 | 947 |
| Tenambit Public School, Tenambit | Government | Primary | 5.7 km | 283 | 893 |
Sources
More for Thornton
Cite this page
Australian Bureau of Statistics. (2021). Education & Qualifications in Thornton [Census of Population and Housing]. CensusAtlas, used under CC BY 4.0. https://censusatlas.au/region/sal/SAL13867/thornton/topic/education