By Lucy Carroll
Thousands of students living in single-sex public high school zones will be given a co-ed school option under a radical overhaul of more than 30 catchment areas in Sydney’s inner-west and south-west suburbs.
High school intake areas from Dulwich Hill to Bankstown and Kogarah have been expanded to unlock access to co-ed public high schools for parents with children starting year 7 in 2025.
Ashfield Public School parent Grace Huong, who has two sons, Leon and August, in kindergarten and year 3, said she would send them both to a co-ed high school. Credit: Steven Siewert
NSW Education Minister Prue Car said the redrawn school boundaries, released to families and teachers for consultation on Friday, would give students, currently zoned for 17 single-sex public high schools, guaranteed access to a neighbouring co-ed alternative.
Parents who live in single-sex public school zones in the inner west have long demanded more schooling options, but the move will most likely spark concerns it could further erode enrolments at some public all-boys schools.
The proposed catchment changes, which will give Sydney parents the choice of a co-ed or single-sex high school, comes less than a month after the government announced the controversial merger of Randwick Girls’ and Boys’ High into a new co-ed campus.
The decision prompted some students to set up an online petition campaigning to reverse the decision, with some saying the move would reduce parents’ choice when it came to single-sex schooling in the area.
NSW has 25 public school catchments where the only option is a boys- or girls-only high school. Families can apply for out-of-area co-ed schools, but they will be knocked back if they are full or near capacity.
A spokesperson for the NSW Department of Education said the redrawn catchments considered year 7 enrolment trends, public transport access and the capacity of co-ed schools when creating the new boundaries.
The changes will affect 88 public primary schools where many students are zoned in single-sex catchments.
“We committed to this complex reform after hearing time and again from parents that they want their children to have access to co-ed environments throughout their schooling,” Car said. “We don’t want families having to move out of communities they love because they do not have access to co-educational schools.”
Some of the changes mean families in areas zoned for Ashfield Boys High and Burwood Girls will have access to Concord High, Strathfield South High and Dulwich High School of Visual Arts and Design, depending on their address. For those zoned for Canterbury Boys and Girls High, students will also have the option of co-ed schools including Marrickville High and Kingsgrove High.
For families in the Homebush Boys and Strathfield Girls intake area, students will gain access to a new co-ed school to be built at Wentworth Point, or have the option of Concord High or Strathfield South.
Craig Petersen, the head of the Secondary Principals Council, said the catchment changes would need to be carefully monitored to ensure they did not lead to massive shifts in student numbers, causing enrolments to fall too low or push some schools further over capacity.
“These changes are a reasonable way of giving parents access to co-ed options without having to shut down single-sex schools. It allows existing schools to focus on maintaining enrolments, and gives parents choice, allowing for both worlds,” he said.
“But if enrolment numbers drop too low at some schools, then it affects staffing entitlements and how many HSC subjects are offered,” he said.
Concord High is about 300 students over its official enrolment cap this year, while Dulwich Hill High is also near capacity. Some single-sex schools such Canterbury Boys have increased enrolments in the past year, although they are about half full.
The state government has committed to giving all NSW students a guaranteed place in a co-educational public high school by 2027.
Christine Del Gallo, principal at the Mackellar Girls campus in Manly Vale, said there was huge support among her school community, and the nearby Balgowlah Boys, for single-sex education.
“Many single-sex schools have strong ties with the communities that have existed for decades,” she said. “While there are always parents that will want co-ed, having single-sex schools are still vitally important and in-demand.”
Ashfield Public School parent Grace Huong, who has sons Leon and August in kindergarten and year 3, said she would send them both to a co-ed high school. Under the changes she would have the option of enrolling her children at Ashfield Boys or Strathfield South High School.
“I grew up in China, and always went to a co-ed school. It’s not common to have separate girls and boys schools there,” she said. “At the public primary schools there are boys and girls. It’s strange suddenly to stop that mix in high school.”
Families zoned for these single sex high schools will have a co-ed school option from 2025
- Ashfield Boys High School
- Auburn Girls High School
- Bankstown Girls High School
- Belmore Boys High School
- Beverly Hills Girls High School
- Birrong Boys High School
- Birrong Girls High School
- Burwood Girls High School
- Canterbury Boys High School
- Canterbury Girls High School
- Granville Boys High School
- Homebush Boys High School
- James Cook Boys Technology High School
- Moorefield Girls High School
- Punchbowl Boys High School
- Strathfield Girls High School
- Wiley Park Girls High School
She said she had considered opting for a Catholic school for her sons, including the nearby St Vincent’s College Ashfield, which recently became co-ed.
“But the most important thing to me is convenience, and proximity to home. We really value extracurricular activities and want the kids to go to school close to home.”
Start the day with a summary of the day’s most important and interesting stories, analysis and insights. Sign up for our Morning Edition newsletter.