NSW Top 100 Private Primary Schools

Which schools stood out in the Catholic and independent sectors?

If you are raising children in Australia, school rankings are something you eventually come across whether you want to or not.

Especially in the primary school years, it is easy to think, “They are still young, so maybe it does not matter that much yet,” but in reality, parents start paying attention to school atmosphere, academic level, community, and even distance from home much earlier than expected.

This time, I was looking at the newly released list of the Top 100 Private Primary Schools in NSW. The ranking included both Catholic and independent schools, and it was interesting to see which schools were identified as high performers.

What stood out to me was that this was not simply a list of the most expensive schools. It included long-established elite schools, well-known independent schools with strong academic reputations, and also some Catholic schools that are considered more affordable compared to the top-end private sector.

How were the schools assessed?

According to the summary, the ranking was not based on just one test score.

The assessment considered a mix of factors, including:

• academic performance
• student attendance
• staff-to-student ratio
• the social and educational background of the school community

That makes the ranking a little more meaningful, because it reflects not only student results but also the broader environment in which children are learning.

In many ways, those are the exact things parents care about when choosing a school. A strong school is not only about high scores. It is also about whether the environment is stable, supportive, and able to help students grow consistently over time.

Looking at the top-ranked schools

Based on the Top 100 list, many familiar names appeared near the top.

The top 10 included schools such as:

• Sydney Grammar School
• Abbotsleigh
• St Aloysius’ College
• Meriden School
• Knox Grammar School
• Ascham School
• Ravenswood School for Girls
• Arden Anglican School, Junior Campus
• Pymble Ladies’ College
• Northcross Christian School

Seeing these names, it was hard not to notice how many of them are already well known among Sydney families. Many of these schools have long histories, strong reputations, and clear identities, whether in academic excellence, tradition, or single-sex education.

Sydney Grammar School taking the top position felt especially symbolic. It is one of those schools whose name alone already carries a strong academic image, so for many people the result probably felt unsurprising.

Tuition is impossible to ignore

Whenever parents look at school rankings, they are not only looking at the names. They are also looking at fees.

This list included average tuition information, and as expected, many of the top independent schools came with substantial annual fees.

Among the higher-ranked schools, some had average fees in the upper twenty-thousand-dollar range, some in the thirty-thousand-dollar range, and a few even above forty thousand dollars per year.

Of course, that cost can be seen as reflecting the school’s facilities, resources, traditions, and networks. Still, in practical terms, these are not schools that every family can casually consider.

That is why, even when a school ranks highly, the question is never simply whether it is “good.” It is whether it is realistic and suitable for your family in terms of budget, location, values, and your child’s personality.

Not only the most expensive schools made the list

One of the more interesting parts of the ranking was that not all top-performing schools were among the most expensive.

There were also Catholic primary schools on the list with more moderate fee levels, which made the ranking feel more diverse than people might assume.

For example, schools such as:

• St Michael’s Catholic Primary School
• St Raphael’s Catholic Primary School
• Our Lady Help of Christians Catholic Primary School

were among the names that stood out.

For families who tend to think of private schools as automatically unaffordable, this kind of list offers a different perspective. It suggests that there are schools with relatively lower fees that are still performing strongly in terms of academic and school-wide outcomes.

The importance of understanding “combined” schools

Another point worth noting is that some schools were listed as Primary, while others were marked as Combined.

That matters more than it might first seem.

According to the summary, for combined schools, the tuition figure reflected an average across both primary and secondary years, and student numbers also referred to the whole school population.

So while it is still helpful to compare schools, it is worth remembering that a primary-only school and a combined K–12 school are not always directly comparable in every sense.

If you are looking closely at fees or overall scale, that detail can make a real difference.

Why rankings should be treated as a guide, not the answer

Lists like this are definitely useful, and they can be a great starting point for parents doing school research.

But in the end, no ranking can decide which school is right for your child.

There are so many factors that matter in real life:

• how far the school is from home
• whether the school culture suits your child
• how strong the religious identity is
• whether the school is heavily academic or more balanced
• whether sport, music, or the arts are strong
• what the parent community feels like

These are the things that numbers alone cannot fully show.

Especially for primary school, I feel that what matters most is whether a child can feel comfortable, supported, and happy at school. Rankings are helpful, but they should be part of the picture, not the whole picture.

This NSW Top 100 Private Primary Schools list was interesting not simply because it showed which school ranked first, but because it highlighted how varied the private primary school landscape really is across NSW.

The traditional elite schools are still performing strongly. Catholic schools continue to offer serious competition in some areas. And overall, the ranking is a reminder that there is no single definition of the “best” school.

For some families, prestige and academic reputation matter most. For others, location, affordability, and community are far more important.

That is why I think rankings like this are best used as a reference point — not as the final answer, but as one piece of information to help families find the school that fits their own child best.

Rank	School	Location	Type	Enrolment (2025)	Average fees (2024)
1	Sydney Grammar School	Darlinghurst	Combined	1925	41261
2	Abbotsleigh	Wahroonga	Combined	1634	28573
3	St Aloysius’ College	Kirribilli	Combined	1347	24702
4	Meriden School	Strathfield	Combined	1761	29042
5	Knox Grammar School	Wahroonga	Combined	3344	36650
6	Ascham School	Edgecliff	Combined	1182	46302
7	Ravenswood School for Girls	Gordon	Combined	1451	37969
8	Arden Anglican School, Junior Campus	Beecroft	Combined	997	23942
9	Pymble Ladies’ College	Pymble	Combined	2500	38237
10	Northcross Christian School	Ryde	Primary	374	8116
11	John Colet School	Belrose	Primary	275	16187
12	Cranbrook School	Bellevue Hill	Combined	1693	45662
13	Redeemer Baptist School	North Parramatta	Combined	549	10895
14	The Scots College	Bellevue Hill	Combined	2076	40774
15	Al-Faisal College – Campbelltown	Minto	Combined	793	2529
16	St Andrew’s Cathedral School	Sydney	Combined	1436	34610
17	Queenwood	Mosman	Combined	816	39466
18	St George Christian School	Hurstville	Combined	845	13797
19	St Michael’s Catholic Primary School	Stanmore	Primary	116	3783
20	Roseville College	Roseville	Combined	1060	31871
21	Barker College	Hornsby	Combined	2856	35226
22	Masada College	St Ives	Combined	368	21899
23	Galilee Catholic Primary School	Bondi Beach	Primary	88	4895
24	Danebank – An Anglican School for Girls	Hurstville	Combined	1042	23333
25	Trinity Grammar School	Summer Hill	Combined	2296	34062
26	Kambala	Rose Bay	Combined	986	46334
27	MLC School	Burwood	Combined	1393	32862
28	Moriah College	Bondi Junction	Combined	1339	24831
29	Presbyterian Ladies’ College Sydney	Croydon	Combined	1495	36996
30	The Illawarra Grammar School	Wollongong West	Combined	970	19653
31	SCEGGS Darlinghurst	Darlinghurst	Combined	936	40737
32	Loreto Kirribilli	Kirribilli	Combined	1176	31650
33	Sydney Japanese International School	Terrey Hills	Primary	190	16049
34	SCEGGS Redlands	Cremorne	Combined	1680	38157
35	Wenona School	North Sydney	Combined	1383	38221
36	Claremont College	Randwick	Primary	265	19626
37	SHORE – Sydney Church of England Grammar School	North Sydney	Combined	1724	38333
38	Newington College	Stanmore	Combined	2072	34309
39	Our Lady Help of Christians Catholic Primary School	Epping	Primary	113	3498
40	The Hills Grammar School	Kenthurst	Combined	1208	26441
41	Tara Anglican School for Girls	North Parramatta	Combined	979	30711
42	William Clarke College	Kellyville	Combined	1950	15867
43	Reddam House	Woollahra	Combined
44	Emanuel School	Randwick	Combined	849	25640
45	St Raphael’s Catholic Primary School	South Hurstville	Primary	210	3007
46	International Grammar School	Ultimo	Combined	1224	24169
47	Mosman Church of England Preparatory School	Mosman	Primary	221	30378
48	The King’s School	North Parramatta	Combined	2150	36403
49	Holy Family Catholic Primary School	Lindfield	Primary	259	4880
50	Our Lady of the Sacred Heart Catholic Primary School	Randwick	Primary	472	4230
51	St Brigid’s Catholic Primary School	Coogee	Primary	205	4158
52	St Therese’s Catholic Primary School	Denistone	Primary	131	3663
53	St Charles’ Catholic Primary School Waverley	Waverley	Primary	308	3852
54	Greenacre Christian College	Greenacre	Combined	322	5044
55	St Anthony’s Catholic Primary School	Marsfield	Primary	284	3625
56	St Thomas’ Catholic Primary School	Willoughby	Primary	277	5130
57	Coogee Boys’ Preparatory School	Randwick	Primary	102	18054
58	Redfield College	Dural	Combined	530	13214
59	Kincoppal – Rose Bay School of the Sacred Heart	Rose Bay	Combined	851	35989
60	Covenant Christian School	Belrose	Combined	884	11538
61	Central Coast Grammar School	Erina Heights	Combined	1561	19193
62	The Armidale School	Armidale	Combined	625	20647
63	Frensham Junior School	Mittagong	Primary	103	20452
64	Hurstville Adventist School	Hurstville	Primary	166	5679
65	St Patrick’s Catholic Primary School	Summer Hill	Primary	163	3784
66	St Michael’s Catholic Primary School	Lane Cove	Primary	502	4924
67	Al-Faisal College	Auburn	Combined	2282	2472
68	Marist Catholic College North Shore	North Sydney	Combined	1609	6702
69	Macarthur Anglican School	Cobbitty	Combined	1177	15896
70	Inner Sydney Montessori School	Balmain	Primary	95	19836
71	St Margaret Mary’s Catholic Primary School	Randwick North	Primary	139	4470
72	St Aidan’s Catholic Primary School	Maroubra Junction	Primary	187	3713
73	Mount Sinai College	Maroubra	Primary	267	12137
74	St Francis of Assisi Regional Catholic Primary School	Paddington	Primary	151	4824
75	Santa Sabina College	Strathfield	Combined	1320	23561
76	St Mark’s Catholic Primary School	Drummoyne	Primary	310	4000
77	Our Lady of the Rosary Catholic Primary School	Waitara	Primary	337	3940
78	Newcastle Grammar School	The Hill	Combined	1048	24762
79	Radford College	Bruce, ACT	Combined	2091	21662
80	Pittwater House	Collaroy	Combined	1001	23098
81	St Brendan’s Catholic Primary School	Annandale	Primary	155	4188
82	Tangara School for Girls	Cherrybrook	Combined	771	10491
83	Sacred Heart Catholic Primary School	Villawood	Primary	226	2323
84	St Luke’s Grammar School	Dee Why	Combined	1481	23986
85	Italian Bilingual School	Meadowbank	Primary	111	11404
86	St Michael’s Catholic Primary School	Meadowbank	Primary	420	3232
87	St Columba Anglican School	Port Macquarie	Combined	1221	8619
88	Montgrove College	Orchard Hills	Combined	675	4029
89	Saint Mary MacKillop Colleges Limited	Wagga Wagga	Combined	198	1475
90	St Joseph’s Catholic Primary School	Oatley	Primary	219	3113
91	German International School Sydney	Terrey Hills	Combined	380	19177
92	Sacred Heart Catholic Primary School	Pymble	Primary	229	4895
93	Blessed Sacrament Catholic Primary School	Clifton Gardens	Primary	114	5137
94	St Anthony’s Catholic Primary School	Clovelly	Primary	163	4413
95	McAuley Catholic Primary School	Rose Bay	Primary	273	4633
96	St Paul of the Cross Catholic Primary School	Dulwich Hill	Primary	118	3078
97	St Bernard’s Catholic Primary School	Botany	Primary	287	3274
98	St Cecilia’s Catholic Primary School	Balgowlah	Primary	232	4573
99	Wahroonga Adventist School	Wahroonga	Combined	633	10467
100	St Kieran’s Catholic Primary School	Manly Vale	Primary	141	4157