Listed: Migrant enrolments soar at New South Wales’ Top 100 public and private schools

Migrant students are flocking to our best public and private schools, changing demographics and boosting NAPLAN scores. See which schools have the biggest levels of growth.

Enterprising migrant families are flocking to top public and private schools, leading to changing demographics and higher academic results, new data shows.

Migrant students have increased four-fold at some schools over the past decade, exclusive analysis of enrolment trends shows.

Some large private schools now have seven out of 10 students from language background other than English (LBOTE) families – many of them from China.

Many of the leading public schools in the country have up to 97 per cent of students coming from non-English speaking backgrounds.

Analysis of the changing demographics at the Top 100 private schools in the nation shows the proportion of such students has increased in 86 out of 100 schools over the past decade.

In NSW, the gap between migrant and non-migrant students in NAPLAN results has grown from 19 points in 2014 to 26 points this year.

The Top 100 private school with the highest proportion of non-English speaking background students is the Meriden School in Strathfield, which has 79 per cent of students from migrant families.

The Heights School in South Australia has increased its proportion of students from migrant families from 16 per cent to 51 per cent – including Muhammad and Minha at the front, and Paarth and Abbas at the back. Picture: Dean Martin

New South Wales has seen a 6 per cent increase in migrant students across the board.

This has been led by schools such as Abbotsleigh in Wahroonga, which went from 30 per cent of girls with a non-English speaking background to 64 per cent, followed by Ravenswood School for Girls, which has increased from 15 to 46 per cent of students from migrant families, from 2014 to 2024.

Next are Knox Grammar (18 to 47 per cent) and Pymble Ladies’ College (30 to 57 per cent).

The NSW public school with the highest percentage of migrant student families is Parramatta High, which has 97 per cent of students from a language background other than English.

School leaders and migrant families say these choices are driven by academic excellence and the high value migrant families place on education.

Many migrant students overperform in NAPLAN, helping raise the performance of the schools they attend while also enriching their culture, exclusive analysis of year 7 and 9 NAPLAN results by News Corp Australia shows.

Despite English often being a second or third language, LBOTE students outperform their peers across the country. Since 2008, the gap between these students has exploded from just two points to 21.

Public school students who come from language backgrounds other than English are almost double the state average in Western Sydney. They include pupils at Canley Vale Public School, where 97 per cent of students come from a language background other than English, representing 35 language groups.

Canley Vale Public School principal Margaret Creagh said: “With so many different languages, everyone is accepting of every culture. We have a beautiful school culture where a strong sense of belonging, and inclusiveness exists. This is certainly something that I am proud of.”

Prue Car has welcomed migrant families to NSW schools.

Education Minister Prue Car said: “Our NSW public schools are high quality learning environments where each student is supported for their unique abilities, including their language background. It is fantastic to see students from some of our most linguistically diverse schools achieving academic success, particularly in Western Sydney.”

Independent Schools Australia CEO Graham Catt said independent schools “reflect the cultural diversity of modern Australia, and around one in three independent students have a language background other than English”.

“This diversity is reflected in school cultures, enriching the learning experience and helping to prepare all students for a global future. We know that the biggest reason families choose a school is because it aligns with their values, and their aspirations for their children,” he said.

“The diversity of independent schools means that families from other cultures can make a choice – whether it is based on faith, cultural background, a particular educational philosophy, or academic results.”

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Originally published as Listed: Migrant enrolments soar at New South Wales’ Top 100 public and private schools