41.7% ▼ -11.6%
Lower than 82% of state electorate areas.
- 2011: 47.2%
- 2016: 36.4%
- 2021: 41.7%
Share of people whose highest year of school is Year 12 or equivalent.
Shellharbour · State Electorate
Education & Qualifications in Shellharbour
How far people went at school, the qualifications they hold and what they studied.
Certificate III and IV qualifications are the most common achievement in Shellharbour, held by 40.8% of adults. This is an area where formal schooling and degrees are much less common than in the rest of the state and country, with a notable drop in Year 12 completions over the last decade.
Schooling
Highest year of school completed.
Only 41.7% of residents finished Year 12, which is far below the 58.9% seen across New South Wales. This figure has fallen 5.5 points since 2011, leaving Shellharbour much lower than most similar areas.
Highest year of school
View on map →In Shellharbour, the largest group is Year 12 at 44%, followed by Year 10 (35%) and Year 9 or below (14%).
Qualifications
Post-school qualifications and degrees.
Adults with a bachelor degree or higher make up 13.7% of the population, a figure far below the national average of 26.3%. While this has risen 1.6 points since 2011, it remains much lower than most other areas.
13.7% ▲ +13.2%
Lower than 79% of state electorate areas.
- 2011: 12.1%
- 2016: 10.6%
- 2021: 13.7%
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 Shellharbour, the largest group is Certificate III / IV at 49%, followed by Bachelor degree (20%) and Advanced diploma / diploma (19%).
Field of study
What people studied.
The most common fields of study for qualified residents are Engineering and related topics at 18.3%, followed closely by Management and commerce at 17.9%.
Schools
Schools in the area and how many children they serve (ACARA).
There are 27 schools within 3 km, serving 12,774 enrolments, which is larger than about 77% of similar areas. Most students attend government schools (81.5%), though the average school advantage score is lower than most areas.
1.61
Lower than 67% of state electorate areas.
Schools per 1,000 children aged under 15.
27
Higher than 71% of state electorate 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).
12,774
Higher than 77% of state electorate areas.
Total students enrolled across the area's schools.
491
Higher than 52% of state electorate areas.
Average enrolment per school in the area.
986
Lower than 70% of state electorate areas.
Enrolment-weighted average ICSEA — an index of socio-educational advantage, centred near 1000 (context, not a quality ranking).
Schools serving Shellharbour
27 schools — 12,774 students, average ICSEA 986.
By sector: Government 22 · Catholic 4 · Independent 1
By type: Primary 18 · Secondary 6 · Combined 3
| Dapto Public School, Horsley | Government | Primary | 2.7 km | 790 | 1,006 |
| Dapto High School, Dapto | Government | Secondary | 3.4 km | 988 | 968 |
| St John's Catholic Primary School, Dapto | Catholic | Primary | 3.6 km | 623 | 1,038 |
| Kanahooka High School, Kanahooka | Government | Secondary | 4.2 km | 581 | 912 |
| Lakelands Public School, Dapto | Government | Primary | 4.4 km | 370 | 952 |
| Koonawarra Public School, Dapto | Government | Primary | 4.8 km | 192 | 838 |
| Hayes Park Public School, Kanahooka | Government | Primary | 4.8 km | 601 | 972 |
| Mount Brown Public School, Dapto | Government | Primary | 5.1 km | 346 | 975 |
| Lake Illawarra High School, Lake Illawarra | Government | Secondary | 10.8 km | 542 | 894 |
| Oak Flats Public School, Oak Flats | Government | Primary | 11.0 km | 416 | 959 |
| Lake Illawarra South Public School, Lake Illawarra | Government | Primary | 11.2 km | 177 | 954 |
| Warilla North Public School, Warilla | Government | Primary | 11.3 km | 167 | 872 |
| Balarang Public School, Oak Flats | Government | Primary | 11.3 km | 268 | 974 |
| Mount Warrigal Public School, Warilla | Government | Primary | 11.4 km | 185 | 885 |
| Oak Flats High School, Oak Flats | Government | Secondary | 11.4 km | 648 | 932 |
| Corpus Christi Catholic High School, Oak Flats | Catholic | Secondary | 11.7 km | 1,126 | 1,045 |
| Barrack Heights Public School, Barrack Heights | Government | Primary | 12.0 km | 192 | 873 |
| Peterborough School, Warilla | Government | Combined | 12.2 km | 115 | 938 |
| Warilla Public School, Warilla | Government | Primary | 12.3 km | 279 | 937 |
| Nazareth Catholic Primary School, Shellharbour City | Catholic | Primary | 12.4 km | 413 | 1,052 |
| Warilla High School, Barrack Heights | Government | Secondary | 13.2 km | 1,020 | 968 |
| Flinders Public School, Flinders | Government | Primary | 14.3 km | 518 | 1,004 |
| Shellharbour Public School, Shellharbour | Government | Primary | 14.8 km | 368 | 999 |
| Stella Maris Catholic Primary School, Shellharbour | Catholic | Primary | 15.2 km | 405 | 1,050 |
| Shellharbour Anglican College, Dunmore | Independent | Combined | 15.4 km | 981 | 1,099 |
| Shell Cove Public School, Shell Cove | Government | Primary | 16.0 km | 463 | 1,049 |
| Illawarra Environmental Education Centre, Dunmore | Government | Combined | 16.8 km | — | — |
Sources
More for Shellharbour
Cite this page
Australian Bureau of Statistics. (2021). Education & Qualifications in Shellharbour [Census of Population and Housing]. CensusAtlas, used under CC BY 4.0. https://censusatlas.au/region/sed/SED10075/shellharbour/topic/education