The Illawarra and south coast’s fastest growing schools revealed for 2023 | List

The Illawarra and south coast’s fastest growing schools – and the ones seeing a decline in students – can be revealed after the federal government released its latest students enrolment data.

St Peter’s Anglican College in Broulee had the largest increase in student enrolments between 2018 and 2022.

The fasted growing schools in the Illawarra and south coast have been revealed with one school near Batemans Bay nearly having the largest increase in students over the monitored period.

An analysis of federal government data has revealed every Illawarra and south coast school’s student enrolment trajectory over the past five years – exposing where student numbers have risen and declined the most.

St Peter’s Anglican College in Broulee has increased enrolments by a mammoth 84 per cent in the five years from 2018 and 2022 with the principal putting it down to multiple factors.

“St Peter’s has seen a steady growth over the last six years and the student population of the country Anglican school has risen from 350 students in 2018 to what will be 900 students in 2024,” St Peter’s Anglican College principal Darren McPartland said.

Mr McPartland said a combination of the beachside location and the myriad of subjects and extra-curricular activities offered to the students could be the reason why there had been massive growth.

St Peter's Anglican College principal, Darren McPartland. Picture: Tom McGann.

“The junior school has a specialist ‘Bush School’ program in Year 3 and 4 and will add a ‘Marine School’ into Year 5 and 6 next year,” he said.

“Each day there are afternoon activities where students are involved in sports like triathlon and tennis along with arts and cooking and the junior school also has a program for four-year-olds called prep.”

The cost of the school was also cited as a reason for the growth by the principal of five years.

“The fees have a one all inclusive fee where families do not have to find extra money for books, excursions, camps, subject levies or sporting events,” he said.

With the rapid growth of St Peter’s Anglican College, Mr McPartland is expecting numbers to grow again and have 900 students at the school in 2024.

“The college has taken enrolments out to 2035,” he said.

The next four schools in terms of population increases sit in the Illawarra with Bulli Public School leading with a 52 per cent change, followed by Kemblawarra Public School (41 per cent), Calderwood Christian School (40 per cent) and Tullimbar Public School (40 per cent).

Shellharbour MP Anna Watson, Now deputy premier Prue Car and unsuccessful Kiama Labor candidate Katelin McInerney in Tullimbar during the state election campaign. Picture: Dylan Arvela

Tullimbar Public School is burgeoning at more than 150 per cent of its intended capacity with the NSW Labor promising during the election campaign to build a school in neighbouring Calderwood.

Now in government, Labor budgeted $1.4bn for new and upgraded schools in regional NSW with the school proposed for Calderwood currently in the planning phase.

Meanwhile, the analysis also highlighted the two region’s schools with declining numbers with Five Islands Secondary College in Port Kembla dropping by 37 per cent and Fairy Meadow’s Good Samaritan Catholic Primary School having a 28 per cent slum in enrolments.

While Bulli Public School continues to grow, a kilometre down the road at Waniora Public School – which is situated next to Bulli High School – has seen enrolment figures fall by 23 per cent.

Callala Public School on the south coast saw its enrolment numbers decline by 26 per cent with Moruya High School also dropping a quarter. Broulee Public School has also seen students numbers decline with a 22 per cent drop.

The Australian Curriculum, Assessment and Reporting Authority (ACARA) figures are the most up to date enrolment numbers that include all state and private schools nationally.