Sarah Peddie-McGuirk, a graduate of public schools, initially overlooked private education options for her children. She attended public primary and high schools herself. However, when her eldest son Henry began kindergarten at Dudley Public, a renowned small school south of Newcastle, conversations among parents soon focused on secondary school choices.
Sarah initially believed she had seven years to decide. Yet, she observed students leaving in years 3 and 4. Strategic parents enrolled their children in the Catholic system to secure year 7 spots at local Catholic high schools. “There’s definitely a feeling of needing to be more proactive in exploring options,” Sarah says. “Parents feel pressure to place their child in an environment where they thrive, surrounded by positive role models.”
Declining Public School Enrollments Across NSW
Private school attendance reached a record high last year, while public school enrollments dropped by nearly 7000 students—the seventh consecutive year of decline. Girls in secondary years lead this shift. If trends persist, Catholic and independent high schools will soon outnumber public ones.
The NSW Education Department describes public education as the foundation of a fair society, yet current patterns signal challenges. Policies from the 1960s and 1970s promoting school choice have boosted taxpayer funding for private schools, accelerating a process known as residualisation—where disadvantaged students remain in public schools as more affluent families opt out.
Research indicates 97 percent of NSW schools with high disadvantage concentrations are public. These schools grow less appealing to families able to pay fees.
Risks of Residualisation
University of Melbourne researcher Professor Glenn Savage calls residualisation the central systemic risk. “When fee-paying families leave public schools, it risks compounding disadvantage,” he says.
Effects include the socio-economic composition impact, where students in high-disadvantage schools underperform compared to peers in mixed environments. Disadvantaged students face double jeopardy: home challenges plus school concentration. High-needs schools struggle to attract and retain quality teachers, undermining their potential.
Residualisation erodes public education’s role in fostering shared civic institutions. Independent researcher Barbara Preston describes it as a vicious cycle. In Sydney’s eastern suburbs, public high school closures decades ago forced longer commutes or private options. Similar issues plague north-western and south-western growth areas due to insufficient school builds.
COVID exacerbated disparities. Private schools received JobKeeper without teacher cuts, while public schools faced higher remote learning barriers from limited home internet access.
Government Responses and Optimism
Education Minister Prue Car highlighted failures in western Sydney, where public options vanished for a decade. “Parents had no choice,” she stated at a recent educators summit.
New initiatives include the Inspire program for gifted education in comprehensive schools, relaxed catchments, website upgrades for 2200 public schools, and converting single-sex campuses to co-ed. Central Coast Council of Parents and Citizens president Sharryn Brownlee welcomes expanded gifted and vocational options, plus schools’ proactive parent engagement via social media and principal visits to primaries.
“Public education must tell its powerful story better,” Brownlee says.
A $4.8 billion state-federal funding boost over the next decade aims to address gaps. Yet, researcher Chris Bonnor notes parents seek schools with advantaged peers, diverse curricula, and high expectations. NSW’s 48 selective schools drain top students from comprehensives, worsening segregation.
Calls for Systemic Change
NSW Teachers Federation deputy president Natasha Watt challenges myths that private or selective schools ensure success. “This pressures 11-year-olds with one test,” she says. Chaos at selective entry tests last year underscored the strain.
Bonnor advocates modifying selective schools for better representation rather than closure. NSW Secondary Principals’ Council president Denise Lofts urges equal rules on staffing, expulsions, and funding accountability for private schools receiving public funds.
“Concentrated disadvantage isn’t Australian values,” Lofts warns. Researcher Lyndsay Connors notes rapid declines hinder regaining parents who value public schooling but seek broader curricula and staffing.
