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2018 High School Rankings
See how your school stacked up in 2018!
Read this guide to see how Sydney’s Schools performed in relation to each other. The 2018 High School Rankings have been derived from the NESA data that is publicly available. Our rankings include a complete list of schools and results based on their HSC performance.
We have included the rankings from 2016 and 2017 to provide an overview of each school’s performance history.
In this 2018 High School rankings article, we provide you with an easy to understand analysis of the top 150 schools based on their performance. We have broken the data down into :
- Breakdown of top 150 NSW Schools
- Top 10 Government/Selective Schools
- Top 10 Government/Non-Selective Schools
- Top 10 Independent Schools
- Top 150 schools by Success Rate
- Most improved schools
Breakdown of the 150 NSW schools
The pie chart provided below shows the distribution of the top 150 schools by their type – government non-selective, government selective, and independent.
Image: Pie chart showing distribution of school types in top 150 schools Key insights from the 2018 data:
- 15% of the schools in the top 150 rankings are government non-selective schools
- 17% of the schools in the top 150 rankings are government selective schools
- 67% of the schools in the top 150 rankings are independent schools
Top 10 Schools by Type
A list of the top 10 performing schools from each of the above categories are tabulated below.
Top 10 Government/Selective Schools in 2018
No Overall Ranking Top 10 Government/Selective Schools 2018 Success Rate 1 1 James Ruse Agricultural High School (Carlingford) 74.73% 2 2 North Sydney Boys High School (Crows Nest) 58.13% 3 4 Sydney Girls High School (Surry Hills)) 51.83% 4 5 Baulkham Hills High School 51.03% 5 6 North Sydney Girls High School (Crows Nest) 49.95% 6 7 Sydney Boys High School (Moore Park) 45.87% 7 8 Hornsby Girls High School 45.65% 8 10 Northern Beaches Secondary College Manly Campus 44.59% 9 15 Fort Street High School (Petersham) 39.37% 10 16 Normanhurst Boys High School 39.82% Top 10 Government/Non-Selective Schools in 2018
No Overall Ranking Top 10 Government/Non-Selective Schools 2018 Success Rate 1 50 Willoughby Girls High School 25.30% 2 63 Cheltenham Girls High School (Cheltenham) 21.46% 3 64 Parramatta Marist High School (Westmead) 21.31% 4 68 Killara High School 19.71% 5 69 Carlingford High School 19.68% 6 81 Cherrybrook Technology High School 17.01% 7 83 Castle Hill High School 16.77% 8 86 Strathfield Girls High School 16.41% 9 87 Killarney Heights High School 16.30% 10 89 Epping Boys High School (Marsfield) 16.14% Top 10 Independent Schools in 2018
No Overall Ranking Top 10 Independent Schools 2018 Success Rates 1 3 Sydney Grammar School (Darlinghurst) 57.07% 2 9 Reddam House (Woollahra) 45.17% 3 11 Abbotsleigh (Wahroonga) 44.22% 4 12 Meriden School (Strathfield) 41.39% 5 13 Wenona School (North Sydney) 41.03% 6 14 Kambala (Rose Bay) 40.28% 7 17 Presbyterian Ladies’ College Sydney (Croydon) 38.61% 8 18 Ascham School (Edgecliff) 36.67% 9 21 Pymble Ladies’ College 35.88% 10 22 SHORE – Sydney Church of England Grammar School (North Sydney) 35.32% Most improved schools in 2018
The graph below shows a selection of the most improved schools in the 2018 high school rankings
Top 150 Schools by Success Rate in 2018
If you would like an explanation of how this data is organised and how to use it, please read the Overview to the Beginner’s Guide to High School Rankings.
How to Read the HSC Rankings:
Terminology
- High Scores: the number of Band 6 scores.
- Total HSC exams sat: the number of merit list course completions.
- 2018 Success Rate: the high scores expressed as a percentage of Entries, rounded to two decimal places.
The top 150 schools by their success rate are shown in the table below:
School 2018 Ranking 2017 Ranking 2016 Ranking 2018 Success Rate High Scores 2018 Total HSC
Exams SatJames Ruse Agricultural High School (Carlingford) 1 1 1 74.73% 748 1001 North Sydney Boys High School (Crows Nest) 2 3 3 58.13% 561 965 Sydney Grammar School 3 6 6 57.07% 710 1244 Sydney Girls High School (Surry Hills) 4 4 13 51.83% 539 1040 Baulkham Hills High School 5 2 2 51.03% 646 1266 North Sydney Girls High School (Crows Nest) 6 8 4 49.95% 477 955 Sydney Boys High School (Moore Park) 7 5 7 45.87% 561 1223 Hornsby Girls High School 8 7 5 45.65% 342 750 Reddam House 9 17 8 45.17% 243 538 Northern Beaches Secondary College Manly Campus 10 10 9 44.59% 346 776 Abbotsleigh (Wahroonga) 11 14 14 44.59% 346 98 Meriden School (Strathfield) 12 23 22 41.39% 310 749 Wenona School (North Sydney) 13 33 15 41.03 272 663 Kambala (Rose Bay) 14 18 16 40.28% 203 504 Fort Street High School (Petersham) 15 12 21 39.37% 372 945 Normanhurst Boys High School 16 13 11 39.23% 304 775 Presbyterian Ladies’ College Sydney (Croydon) 17 21 36 38.82% 257 662 Ascham School (Edgecliff) 18 9 18 38.61% 205 531 St George Girls High School (Kogarah) 19 24 17 36.67% 333 908 Girraween High School 20 22 20 36.31% 305 840 Pymble Ladies’ College 21 20 31 36.12% 515 1426 SHORE – Sydney Church of England Grammar School (North Sydney) 22 34 26 35.88% 390 1087 Knox Grammar School (Wahroonga) 23 19 28 35.32% 659 1866 Sydney Technical High School (Bexley) 24 29 35 32.91% 287 872 SCEGGS Darlinghurst 25 16 12 32.89% 222 675 Al-Faisal College 26 54 42 32.56% 190 583 Penrith High School 27 27 32 31.76% 297 935 St Catherine’s School (Waverley) 28 57 45 31.22% 187 599 Queenwood School for Girls (Mosman) 29 37 19 31.18% 111 356 Santa Sabina College (Strathfield) 30 47 46 30.13% 201 687 Hurlstone Agricultural High School (Glenfield) 31 44 34 30.10% 295 980 Moriah College (Queens Park) 32 15 27 29.78 204 685 Cranbrook School (Bellevue Hill) 33 41 55 29.77% 262 880 St Luke’s Grammar School (Dee Why) 34 56 57 29.24% 162 554 Newcastle Grammar School 35 85 64 29.03% 144 496 Roseville College 36 25 40 28.82% 185 642 St Aloysius’ College (Kirribilli) 37 36 23 28.74% 261 908 Alpha Omega Senior College (Auburn) 38 35 41 28.39% 113 398 Loreto Kirribilli 39 30 25 28.14% 226 803 Caringbah High School 40 39 29 27.23% 241 885 The King’s School (North Parramatta) 41 32 30 26.98% 313 1160 Al Noori Muslim School 42 45 100 26.74% 96 359 MLC School (Burwood) 43 31 67 26.72% 101 378 Kincoppal – Rose Bay School of the Sacred Heart 44 28 24 26.60% 141 530 Emanuel School (Randwick) 45 43 38 26.47% 117 442 Loreto Normanhurst 46 42 44 26.04% 238 914 Monte Sant’ Angelo Mercy College (North Sydney) 47 67 72 25.73% 221 859 Tara Anglican School for Girls (North Parramatta) 48 75 43 25.67% 106 413 Smiths Hill High School (Wollongong) 49 80 60 25.42% 182 716 Willoughby Girls High School 50 61 65 25.30% 187 739 Barker College (Hornsby) 51 51 33 25.07% 471 1879 Masada College (St Ives) 52 49 74 25.00% 90 360 The Scots College (Bellevue Hill) 53 74 78 24.45% 254 1039 Ravenswood School for Girls (Gordon) 54 40 39 24.02% 134 558 Frensham School (Mittagong) 55 48 50 23.88% 64 268 Central Coast Grammar School 56 83 70 23.39% 134 573 Brigidine College St Ives 57 70 49 23.34% 179 767 Gosford High School 58 50 48 223.17% 231 997 Merewether High School (Broadmeadow) 59 38 37 22.82% 251 1100 Danebank – An Anglican School For Girls (Hurstville) 60 59 68 22.06% 103 467 St Ignatius’ College (Lane Cove) 61 46 47 22.03% 313 1421 Northern Beaches Secondary College Balgowlah Boys Campus 62 201 156 21.49% 75 349 Cheltenham Girls High School (Cheltenham) 63 53 53 21.46% 247 1151 Parramatta Marist High School (Westmead) 64 60 51 21.31%% 143 671 St Augustine’s College Sydney 65 63 95 21.24% 188 885 Newtown Performance Art School 66 58 82 21.22% 191 900 Mount St Benedict College (Pennant Hills) 67 81 86 20.10% 169 841 Killara High School 68 78 61 19.71% 276 1400 Carlingford High School 69 79 85 19.68% 208 1057 Hunter Valley Grammar School (Ashtonfield) 70 158 159 19.58% 113 577 St Spyridon College (Kingsford) 71 109 198 19.51% 71 364 Macarthur Anglican School (Cobbitty) 72 114 93 19.27% 111 576 Sefton High School 73 55 52 19.11% 181 947 IPEKA Integrated Christian School 74 137 92 19.02% 66 347 SCECGS Redlands 75 146 152 18.79% 62 330 Chatswood High School 76 66 73 18.37% 176 958 St Clare’s College (Waverly) 77 167 172 17.78% 80 450 St Mark’s Coptic Orthodox College 78 164 151 17.38% 57 328 St Joseph’s College (Hunters Hill) 79 77 88 17.35% 200 1153 Our Lady of Mercy College Parramatta 80 76 97 12.11% 121 707 Cherrybrook Technology High School 81 68 58 17.01% 331 1946 Our Lady of the Sacred Heart College 82 235 202 16.86% 103 611 Castle Hill High School 83 91 102 16.77% 224 1336 St Ursula’s College (Kingsgrove) 84 97 75 16.72% 158 945 Oxley College (Burradoo) 85 82 63 16.67% 56 336 Strathfield Girls High School 86 96 90 16.41% 182 1109 Killarney Heights High School 87 191 146 16.30% 105 644 St Patrick’s Marist College 88 140 149 16.23% 100 616 Epping Boys High School (Marsfield) 89 86 118 16.14% 164 1016 St Mary’s Cathedral College (Sydney) 90 118 108 16.10% 86 534 The Hills Grammar School 91 100 71 16.02% 78 487 Tangara School for Girls (Cherrybrook) 92 26 16.00% 24 150 St Patrick’s College (Strathfield) 93 96 90 16.00% 155 969 St Pius X College 94 181 161 15.78% 127 805 Bethany College 95 89 141 15.51% 130 838 Freeman Catholic College 96 65 69 15.32% 174 1136 Malek Fahd Islamic School 97 69 76 15.31% 64 418 Newington College 98 88 87 15.24% 166 1089 Northern Beaches Secondary College Mackellar Girls Campus 99 84 91 15.20% 104 684 Lambton High School 100 159 137 15.14% 116 766 International Grammar School (Ultimo) 101 72 94 14.59% 83 569 Australian International School Malaysia 102 275 – 14.55% 31 213 Oxford Falls Grammar School 103 101 105 14.54% 58 399 All Saints’ College Bathurst 104 177 278 14.44% 441 284 Inaburra School 105 92 117 14.23% 76 534 Marist Sisters’ College Woolwich 106 111 111 14.21% 129 908 Brigidine College Randwick 107 52 56 14.20% 100 704 Marist College Eastwood 108 172 171 14.20% 70 493 St Philip’s Christian College – Waratah 109 113 157 14.12% 71 503 Barrenjoey High School 110 161 267 13.91% 63 453 Trinity Grammar School 111 64 103 13.77% 102 741 All Saints’ Grammar 112 228 279 13.48% 31 230 St Ives High School 113 204 158 13.42% 95 708 Tempe High School 114 156 188 13.30% 108 812 St Scholastica’s College Glebe Point 115 104 101 13.06% 120 919 Kinross Wolaroi School 116 130 106 13.06% 97 743 Canterbury Girls High School 117 234 240 13.04% 76 583 St George Christian School (Hurstville) 118 134 166 13.01% 48 369 Aquinas Catholic College 119 187 264 12.86% 95 739 Menai High School 120 182 262 12.74% 120 942 Catherine McAuley Westmead 121 151 112 12.74% 121 950 Marist College North Shore 122 128 145 12.73% 75 589 Northern Beaches Secondary College Freshwater Senior Campus 123 201 156 12.72% 187 1470 Randwick Girls High School 124 273 308 12.72% 94 739 Amity College, Prestons 125 127 114 12.48% 78 625 Burwood Girls High School 126 93 110 12.43% 127 1022 Marist College Kogarah 127 71 122 12.29% 66 537 William Clarke College 128 188 – 12.24% 106 866 Marcellin College 129 142 141 12.14% 93 766 St Vincent’s College (Potts Point) 130 99 79 11.88% 72 606 St Patrick’s College Sutherland 131 157 127 11.88% 117 985 Calrossy Anglican School (Tamworth) 132 163 124 11.76% 56 476 Cumberland High School 133 208 275 11.66% 66 566 Waverley College 134 155 125 11.46% 92 803 Oakhill College Castle Hill 135 123 193 11.44% 212 1853 Canberra Grammar School (Red Hill) 136 116 98 11.37% 68 598 St Columba Anglican School 137 103 81 11.30% 46 407 St Andrew’s Cathedral School 138 105 138 11.28% 65 576 Ryde Secondary College 139 117 83 11.27% 79 701 Mercy Catholic College (Chatswood) 140 124 66 11.22% 45 401 St John Bosco College 141 119 130 11.21% 53 473 Arden Anglican School 142 62 115 11.20% 42 375 St Charbel’s College 143 162 216 11.20% 44 393 Hunter School of Performing Arts 144 147 225 10.91% 74 678 Wollongong High School of the Performing Arts 145 214 150 10.83% 82 757 Redfield College 146 90 59 10.71% 18 168 Turramurra High School 147 132 131 10.68% 114 1067 Prairiewood High School 148 108 261 10.65% 87 817 The Illawarra Grammar School 149 149 243 10.57% 43 407 Asquith Girls High School 150 200 119 10.55% 71 673 Please note, these tables and charts are made using publicly available data.
Also available is the 2017 High School Rankings.
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2017 High School Rankings
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