28.3% ▲ +40.1%
Lower than 89% of suburb / locality areas.
- 2011: 20.2%
- 2016: 24.2%
- 2021: 28.3%
Share of people whose highest year of school is Year 12 or equivalent.
West Kempsey · Suburb / Locality
Education & Qualifications in West Kempsey
How far people went at school, the qualifications they hold and what they studied.
Higher education levels have remained low in West Kempsey over the last decade. Only 6.9% of adults hold a bachelor degree or higher, which is far below the national figure of 26.3%. This reflects a broader trend of low school completion rates across the area.
Schooling
Highest year of school completed.
Only 28.3% of residents completed Year 12, which is far below the New South Wales figure of 58.9%. This is much lower than most areas, with 31.4% of people having Year 10 as their highest level of schooling.
Highest year of school
View on map →West Kempsey splits fairly evenly between Year 10 (36%) and Year 12 (32%), with Year 9 or below at 24%.
Qualifications
Post-school qualifications and degrees.
University degrees are rare here, with the typical qualification being a Certificate III or IV, held by 40.0% of adults. This contributes to the area being far below the national average for higher education.
6.9% ▲ +50.8%
Lower than 82% of suburb / locality areas.
- 2011: 4.6%
- 2016: 5.5%
- 2021: 6.9%
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 West Kempsey, Certificate III / IV is the majority at 60%; Bachelor degree is next at 15%.
Field of study
What people studied.
The most common fields of study are management and commerce at 14.2%, followed by society and culture at 12.9% and health at 10.6%.
Schools
Schools in the area and how many children they serve (ACARA).
There are 12 schools within 3km, which is more than 84% of similar areas. Most of these are government-run (66.7%) and primary schools (58.3%), though the average school advantage score is much lower than most areas.
3.83
Higher than 50% of suburb / locality areas.
Schools per 1,000 children aged under 15.
12
Higher than 82% 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).
300
Lower than 52% of suburb / locality areas.
Average enrolment per school in the area.
896
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 West Kempsey
12 schools — 3,601 students, average ICSEA 896.
By sector: Government 8 · Catholic 2 · Independent 2
By type: Primary 7 · Secondary 4 · Combined 1
| St Paul's College, West Kempsey | Catholic | Secondary | 0.9 km | 641 | 999 |
| Kempsey High School, Kempsey | Government | Secondary | 1.2 km | 584 | 848 |
| St Joseph's Primary School, West Kempsey | Catholic | Primary | 1.7 km | 332 | 991 |
| Kempsey West Public School, West Kempsey | Government | Primary | 2.0 km | 422 | 794 |
| Green Hill Public School, West Kempsey | Government | Primary | 2.9 km | 19 | 712 |
| Kempsey East Public School, Kempsey | Government | Primary | 2.9 km | 180 | 875 |
| Melville High School, Kempsey | Government | Secondary | 3.4 km | 355 | 849 |
| Kempsey South Public School, Kempsey | Government | Primary | 3.8 km | 129 | 767 |
| Macleay Vocational College, South Kempsey | Independent | Secondary | 4.3 km | 88 | 787 |
| Aldavilla Public School, Yarravel | Government | Primary | 4.4 km | 263 | 896 |
| Kempsey Adventist School, Kempsey | Independent | Combined | 4.9 km | 458 | 953 |
| Frederickton Public School, Frederickton | Government | Primary | 5.3 km | 130 | 890 |
Sources
More for West Kempsey
Cite this page
Australian Bureau of Statistics. (2021). Education & Qualifications in West Kempsey [Census of Population and Housing]. CensusAtlas, used under CC BY 4.0. https://censusatlas.au/region/sal/SAL14264/west-kempsey/topic/education