HSC · New South Wales · Most-recent published cohort
HSC ATAR results — top New South Wales private schools
Median ATAR + % top 1%, 5%, 10%, 20% for 14 New South Wales private schools. Real numbers from Better Education + NESA. Higher School Certificate.
Key takeaways
- Top New South Wales school: Sydney Grammar School (Darlinghurst) — 33.7% of cohort with ATAR 99+.
- 14 New South Wales private schools have published HSC ATAR data in the most-recent cohort released by Better Education.
- NSW has the largest private school cohort in Australia. Eastern Sydney independent schools, North Shore GPS schools and inner-west Catholic schools dominate the upper end of HSC ATAR distribution.
- Cross-state comparison via ATAR is valid: ATAR is a national percentile rank (0–99.95), so a HSC ATAR of 95 represents the same percentile position as a VCE/HSC ATAR of 95.
HSC leaderboard
Top 14 New South Wales private schools by HSC performance
Ranked by median ATAR where available, otherwise by % of cohort with ATAR 99+. Some schools publish only a subset of metrics.
| # | School | Suburb | Median ATAR | % 99+ | % 95+ | % 90+ |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Sydney Grammar School | Darlinghurst | — | 33.7% | 72.4% | 84.9% |
| 2 | St Aloysius' College | Milsons Point | 94.25 | 20% | — | — |
| 3 | Abbotsleigh | Wahroonga | 93.90 | 13% | 45% | 66% |
| 4 | Ravenswood School for Girls | Gordon | 92.30 | — | — | — |
| 5 | Pymble Ladies' College | Pymble | 91.45 | 8% | 33% | 56% |
| 6 | Shore (Sydney Church of England Grammar) | North Sydney | 91.13 | — | 26% | 52% |
| 7 | Frensham School | Mittagong | 87 | — | 10% | 38% |
| 8 | Ascham School | Edgecliff | — | 9% | — | 50% |
| 9 | SCEGGS Darlinghurst | Darlinghurst | — | 8.26% | 32.11% | 53.21% |
| 10 | Loreto Kirribilli | Kirribilli | — | 4% | 24% | 51% |
| 11 | Loreto Normanhurst | Normanhurst | — | 2% | 22% | 41% |
| 12 | Reddam House | Bondi | — | — | 40% | 61% |
| 13 | Roseville College | Roseville | — | — | 33% | 49% |
| 14 | St Vincent's College | Potts Point | — | — | 14% | 60% |
Sorted by median ATAR
New South Wales schools ranked by median ATAR
Half the cohort sits above this figure, half below. The single most-cited measure of school cohort strength.
St Aloysius' College
Milsons Point · boys · Catholic (Jesuit)
Abbotsleigh
Wahroonga · girls · Anglican
Ravenswood School for Girls
Gordon · girls · Uniting Church
Pymble Ladies' College
Pymble · girls · Uniting Church
Shore (Sydney Church of England Grammar)
North Sydney · boys · Anglican
Frensham School
Mittagong · girls · Independent (non-denominational)
HSC explained
How HSC scaling works
Credential. Higher School Certificate, awarded by NESA — NSW Education Standards Authority at completion of Year 12.
Score system. HSC marks out of 100 reported in 6 bands (Band 6 = 90+). ATAR is computed from scaled aggregate, not raw HSC marks.
Scaling. HSC scaling is run by UAC and is similar in shape to VCE: Maths Extension 2, Maths Extension 1, Physics, Chemistry, Latin and Languages scale UP; Business Studies, Community & Family Studies, Senior Science, PDHPE scale DOWN. Best 10 units (2 must be English) form the aggregate.
ATAR. A national percentile rank from 0–99.95 in 0.05 increments. Set by ACTAC/UAC/QTAC/SATAC/TISC depending on state. ATAR 95 = top 5% nationally regardless of credential.
Common questions
HSC ATAR — common questions
What is a Band 6 in HSC?
A Band 6 is an HSC mark of 90 or above. It is roughly the top 10% of the subject cohort. Schools often publish their % of HSC marks at Band 6 as a school-strength measure.
How is HSC ATAR calculated?
UAC scales raw HSC marks by subject, then aggregates the best 10 scaled units (2 of which must be English). The aggregate is converted to a national ATAR percentile.
What is a good HSC ATAR?
Above 90 = top 10% (competitive entry for Commerce, Science). Above 95 = top 5% (Law, double degrees). Above 99 = top 1% (Medicine, Actuarial). The state median ATAR is around 70.
Which NSW private school has the best HSC results?
Sydney Grammar typically leads on % of cohort achieving ATAR 99+ (often above 30%). Reddam House, James Ruse (public selective, out of scope here), Sydney Boys (public selective) also dominate. Among private girls schools, Abbotsleigh, Pymble Ladies College and SCEGGS Darlinghurst consistently feature.
Methodology
Data + sources
ATAR figures sourced from Better Education's HSC state rankings, which aggregate results published by each school + the NESA results notification.
Schools matched to our private school registry by city + name. Only confident matches included. The absence of a school here means either: (a) the school did not publish detailed cohort statistics; (b) the school's results sat outside Better Education's published top ~30 for the state; or (c) the school is public/selective and out of scope for a private-school directory.
Public selective schools (James Ruse, Sydney Boys, Melbourne High, Mac Robertson, Perth Modern) typically top absolute state rankings but are excluded from this directory.
Cohort year: most-recently published cohort (typically 2024 results released early 2025). Released under CC BY 4.0 with attribution to Better Education for source figures.