By Lucy Carroll and Christopher Harris
Hundreds of students living in Sydney’s inner and south-west will have guaranteed access to a nearby co-educational public high school in a major win for parents who for years have campaigned for more schooling options.
Families that live in some single-sex school catchments in inner and south-west suburbs will be able to enrol their children starting year 7 in 2025 into a co-ed high school. The plan will be expanded to all students in NSW by 2027.
Alex Baumber with sons Leo, who is in year 4, and Simon, year 6. The family’s out-of-area applications for co-ed schools have been rejected.Credit: Steven Siewert
Education officials are modelling new school intake areas and families will be officially informed of the changes by term 1 next year.
The policy change comes after years of lobbying by frustrated parents desperate for more school choices, saying they are being forced to move suburbs or switch to the private sector because of a lack of co-ed options.
Decisions about catchment changes are yet to be finalised. But students now zoned for 15 single-sex schools including Ashfield Boys, Burwood Girls, Canterbury Boys, Canterbury Girls, Homebush Boys, Strathfield Girls, Birrong Girls, Birrong Boys, Granville Boys, Auburn Girls, Punchbowl Boys, Bankstown Girls, Beverley Hills Girls, Belmore Boys and Wiley Park Girls will be among the first to be given a co-ed high school alternative in 2025.
Some parents are urging the government to make the changes sooner, saying they are being left in limbo with no guarantees about secondary school options.
Alex Baumber, who has sons in years 4 and 6 at Undercliffe Public School in Earlwood, said the family were zoned for Canterbury Boys. He applied for three out-of-area co-ed high schools for his older child – including Marrickville High, Dulwich High and Kingsgrove North High School. All three applications were rejected.
“It’s incredibly frustrating to think our older son won’t have a co-ed option because he is starting high school next year,” Baumber said.
“There are things the government could do now in the transition phase, like looking at schools with extra space or relaxing enrolment caps for the next couple of years until they have formalised the rezoning.”
Baumber said he was fundamentally opposed to gender segregation in public schools, and the family had considered moving house as a result of being restricted to single-sex schools. “It’s crazy that it might come to that,” he said.
“As the parents of two boys, we want them to interact with girls in learning, teamwork, socialising – just like the real world.”
NSW has 36 public school catchments where the only option is a boys- or girls-only high school. Students are only guaranteed a place at their local school, and while families can apply for out-of-area co-ed schools, they will be knocked back if they are full or near capacity.
Education Minister Prue Car told the Herald the government was committing to ensuring all NSW students would have access to a co-educational public high school by 2027.
“We are working hard on the plan to roll out this complex reform, including planning the expansion of co-ed catchments. I look forward to providing updates on the rollout of access for specific catchment areas later this year,” Car said.
At NSW public high schools this year, about 35,258 students are enrolled in single-sex schools and about 272,361 in co-educational schools.
Sascha Dannroth and his children. The family is currently zoned for single-sex public high schools - Randwick Boys and Girls.Credit: James Brickwood
The shift comes as parents shun the city’s 15 non-selective public boys’ high schools, half of which have vacancy rates of more than 30 per cent. Georges River College Hurstville Boys Campus, Birrong Boys and Canterbury Boys are all at less than 50 per cent capacity.
Epping Boys High, Northern Beaches Secondary College Balgowlah Boys Campus and Ashfield Boys are the only schools over their enrolment cap in 2023.
Granville Boys added almost 110 students last year after extra activities were offered at the school. It now has an in-school barbershop, a pipe band and a robotics team.
Debate about the availability of co-ed schools has been running for years, including in the eastern suburbs where many families are zoned for Randwick Boys’ and Girls. A consultation about the future of public high school options in the east is in progress and a consultation report is due later this year.
Licia Heath, from lobby group Community for Local Options for Secondary Education (CLOSE), said only allowing some students access in 2025 was another example of the eastern suburbs being ignored by education department bureaucrats.
“The fact that community has been overlooked yet again shows how public education in the eastern suburbs of Sydney is never a consideration of the Department of Education,” she said.
“CloseEast conducted a survey of families in the east, between October 2022 and February 2023, and the overwhelming responses were a preference for co-ed for people in the Randwick catchment area.”
The area is dominated by more than 20 private high schools, many with fees topping $30,000 a year.
Sascha Dannroth, who has a son in kindergarten and a daughter in year 3 at Randwick Public School, said his family was zoned for single-sex high schools.
“It would be much better if they all go to the same school and spend time with each other. I feel that co-ed schools are better for character building, and a reflection of the real world.
“I don’t want to spend the money on private schools, but it may come to that unless we have more options.”
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