Private girls’ secondary schools in New South Wales
Published June 2021
There are over 110 private girls’ schools in Australia. Most of these schools are in Melbourne and Sydney, with over 45 schools in each state.
For the purpose of this article, ‘private’ schools refer to non-government schools – both Independent and Catholic.
There are 46 private secondary and combined schools in New South Wales.
Private girls’ secondary schools in Sydney
There are 40 private secondary and combined girls’ schools in Sydney.
Sydney Northern Suburbs
- Abbotsleigh
- Brigidine College
- Loreto Kirribilli
- Loreto Normanhurst
- Marist Sisters' College
- Monte Sant Angelo Mercy College
- Pymble Ladies College
- Queenwood School for Girls
- Ravenswood School For Girls
- Roseville College
- Wenona School
Sydney City Central and Eastern Suburbs
- Ascham School
- Brigidine College Randwick
- Domremy College
- Mercy Catholic College
- Our Lady of the Sacred Heart Regional College
- SCEGGS - Darlinghurst
- St Catherine's School
- St Clare's College
- St Scholastica's College
- St Vincent's College
- Stella Maris College
Sydney South Western Suburbs
- Bethany College
- Danebank An Anglican School for Girls
- Meriden School
- MLC School
- Mount St Joseph Milperra
- Our Lady of Mercy College Burraneer
- PLC Sydney
- St Patrick's College Campbelltown
- St Ursula's College
Sydney Western Suburbs
- Bethlehem College
- Caroline Chisholm College
- Catherine McAuley
- Cerdon College
- Mary MacKillop College
- Mount St Benedict College
- Nagle College
- Our Lady Of Mercy College
- Tara Anglican School for Girls
Search Sydney private secondary and combined girls’ schools here.
Private girls’ secondary schools in Armidale
Private girls’ secondary schools in Illawarra
- Frensham — Mittagong
- St Mary Star of the Sea College — Wollongong
Private girls’ secondary schools in Central West
- MacKillop College — Bathurst
Private girls’ secondary schools in Hunter and Central Coast
- St Joseph's Catholic College — East Gosford
Why choose single-sex education?
Your decision may be based on factors such as family tradition, desire to have your child educated in a particular faith or context, or the academic performance of a school.
Researchers continue to examine the benefits and drawbacks of single-sex and co-ed schooling. Overall, there is no conclusive evidence to decide which environment is better and for whom. Recent years have seen a number of single-sex schools convert to a co-educational system — in some cases, this is because it allows schools to provide more academic and co-curricular options for their students.
Advantages and disadvantages of an all-girls education
One of the main arguments presented for single-sex schooling is that they may be able to cater better to the different learning styles of either boys or girls. This follows a widespread belief that the academic learning styles, interests and maturity levels differ between girls and boys (and at varying ages).
Many schools have recently made the transition to co-education have maintained single-sex academic classes. For example, some have mostly single-sex classes, but allow boys and girls to socialise in the school grounds. Some have single-sex classes (and even campuses) in middle years (often from ages 12–15) and mixed classes in senior years. Some schools believe that this method allows girls to achieve better results in subjects that boys typically outperform them (such as science and mathematics), and vice-versa.
Depending on where you are located and the size of the school you are considering, disadvantages of an all-girls education may include more limited subject choice, socialisation among genders, co-curricular programs and choice of school. Cost may also be a factor — while single-sex schools can be found across the Independent, Catholic and government sectors, schools are more typically Independent or Catholic.
