In 2011 there were 9,435 schools in Australia.
¹ This total included primary, secondary, combined (primary and secondary) and special schools, across government (71 per cent) and non-government (29 per cent) sectors. (See
Part 10: Glossary for definitions of school levels and sectors.)
Of the total number of schools, 71 per cent were administered by State and Territory governments, 18 per cent identified as having Catholic affiliation and 11 per cent were classified as independent. Most independent schools provide a religious-based education or promote a particular educational philosophy.
Seventy-seven per cent of primary schools, 73 per cent of secondary schools and 79 per cent of schools for students with special needs were in the government sector. The Catholic sector accounted for 20 per cent of primary schools and 22 per cent of secondary schools while just over half of all combined schools were in the independent sector.
The number and proportion of schools by sector and school category in 2011 is shown in Table 3.2.
Table 3.2 Number and proportion of schools by sector and school category, Australia, 2011
|
School sector
|
|
School category
|
Government
|
Catholic
|
Independent
|
Total
|
|
No.
|
%
|
No.
|
%
|
No.
|
%
|
No.
|
%
|
|
Primary
|
4,847
|
51.4
|
1,231
|
13.0
|
234
|
2.5
|
6,312
|
66.9
|
|
Secondary
|
1,023
|
10.8
|
305
|
3.2
|
68
|
0.7
|
1,396
|
14.8
|
|
Combined
|
504
|
5.3
|
148
|
1.6
|
653
|
6.9
|
1,305
|
13.8
|
|
Special
|
331
|
3.5
|
26
|
0.3
|
65
|
0.7
|
422
|
4.5
|
|
Total
|
6,705
|
71.1
|
1,710
|
18.1
|
1,020
|
10.8
|
9,435
|
100.0
|
Note: Primary education comprises a pre-Year 1 grade followed by Years 1 to 6 in NSW, Victoria, Tasmania, NT and ACT. In Queensland, SA and WA, primary education comprises a pre-Year 1 grade followed by Years 1 to 7.
Source: ABS, Cat. No. 4221.0, Schools, Australia, 2011
See also Additional Statistics Table 1
The proportion of schools in each sector in 2011 is shown in Figure 3.1.
Figure 3.1 Proportion of schools by sector, Australia, 2011
Source: ABS, Cat. No. 4221.0, Schools, Australia, 2011
For the number of schools by sector by State and Territory 2011 see
Additional Statistics Table 1.
The total number of schools fell by 1.5 per cent over the period 2007–11. This resulted from falls of 2.1 per cent in the number of government schools and 0.5 per cent in the number of independent schools, which were partially offset by a rise of 0.4 per cent in the number of Catholic schools. This is reflected in a slight change in the proportions of schools in the three sectors within this period, as shown in Table 3.3.
Table 3.3 Number and proportion of schools by sector, Australia, 2007–11
| |
School sector
|
|
Year
|
Government
|
Catholic
|
Independent
|
Total
|
|
No.
|
%
|
No.
|
%
|
No.
|
%
|
No.
|
%
|
|
2007
|
6,851
|
71.5
|
1,703
|
17.8
|
1,025
|
10.7
|
9,579
|
100.0
|
|
2008
|
6,833
|
71.5
|
1,705
|
17.8
|
1,024
|
10.7
|
9,562
|
100.0
|
|
2009
|
6,802
|
71.4
|
1,705
|
17.9
|
1,022
|
10.7
|
9,529
|
100.0
|
|
2010
|
6,743
|
71.2
|
1,708
|
18.0
|
1,017
|
10.7
|
9,468
|
100.0
|
|
2011
|
6,705
|
71.1
|
1,710
|
18.1
|
1,020
|
10.8
|
9,435
|
100.0
|
Source: ABS Cat. No. 4221.0, Schools, Australia, 2011
See also Additional Statistics Table 1
Caution is required when interpreting time series for numbers of schools. The number of schools from year to year may vary because of structural changes in individual schools or groups of schools. For example: several schools at the same level of education may be amalgamated; primary schools and secondary schools may merge to create combined schools; secondary schools may split to create junior and senior secondary schools. Each of these scenarios may affect the number of schools reported year to year.
Figure 3.2 shows the number of schools in each sector over the period 2007–11.
Figure 3.2 Number of schools by sector, Australia, 2007–11
Source: ABS, Cat. No. 4221.0, Schools, Australia, 2011