St Clare’s College in Waverley achieved a higher HSC success rate than Kincoppal Rose Bay.
Exclusive

The low-fee Sydney schools that outrank expensive rivals in the HSC

Schools including St Clare’s in Waverley and Parramatta Marist High are outperforming high-fee private schools.

  • byLucy Carroll andNigel Gladstone

Latest

A proposed new rule is causing division at Sydney University

The radical proposal that could end Sydney Uni’s proud history of rebellion

A new rule to enforce a more civil discourse on campus has been backed by the university. It’s caused alarm within.

  • byDaniella White
Kambala Head of English Greta Beaumont with HSC students Evangeline Chu,Sasha Van Onselen,Ansalee Desai,Gabriella Gamerov,Jessica Allen-Waters,Stephanie Harvey-Fros and Sophie Regan.

The top schools for HSC English revealed

Eastern suburbs private girls’ school Kambala was the best school for the subject in the 2024 HSC. Here’s how they did it.

  • byChristopher Harris andNigel Gladstone
Artificial intelligence can help uni students write essays. But is that such a bad thing?
Opinion

To AI or not to AI? How chatbots can help revive the university essay

Artificial intelligence could help in writing essays,but only if we take the time to reconsider their history and real purpose.

  • byHuw Griffiths
The Coalition has given its strongest signal yet that it will target rich city universities - such as Sydney,Melbourne,UNSW and Monash - with its own student caps.

Coalition doubles down on promise of student caps,but still doesn’t say how

The Coalition has given its strongest signal yet that it will target rich city universities such as Sydney,Melbourne,UNSW and Monash with its own student caps.

  • byNatassia Chrysanthos
Warren Song,Yu Tong Duong and Julia Zheng,from James Ruse Agricultural High School,all received 99.95 ATARs.

Meet every student who got 99.95 in this year’s HSC

One Sydney private boys school claimed one-quarter of the 51 perfect ATARs.

  • byLucy Carroll,Mary Ward andRicky Blank
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Visa applications from overseas students have halved compared to July and August last year.
Exclusive

Go-slow visas to provide quick fix for ballooning international student numbers

Labor will issue a go-slow on student visa processing once universities hit a certain number to get around Peter Dutton’s decision to block its student caps bill.

  • byPaul Sakkal andNatassia Chrysanthos

The schools that surged up the HSC rankings – one by 220 places

When the new principal was appointed in early April,this Sydney high school was struggling with an urgent need to fill more than a dozen vacant teaching positions.

  • byLucy Carroll
(L-R) Yeshaya Ram,Tom Collins,Grace Costigan,and Warren Song who were First In Class in their HSC exams,revealed on Tuesday.

HSC results 2024 as it happened:NSW year 12 students receive marks,ATARs

The day has come. Join us as we celebrate the Class of 2024 as they receive their results this morning. Follow our live coverage.

  • byAnthony Segaert andAngus Thomson
Menai High school student Isaac Warwar opens his ATAR results on Wednesday 18th December,2024.
1:39

Menai High school student opens his ATAR results

Menai High school student Isaac Warwar opens his ATAR results on Wednesday 18th December,2024.

The island and North Sydney captain Minh-Tam Dinh.

Inside the island study camp where North Sydney Boys plotted their HSC success

On a warm November day last year,students took a train an hour north to the Hawkesbury River and boarded a creaky ferry to Milson Island. There,they built their ‘secret little academic weapon’.

  • byChristopher Harris andAnthony Segaert
Menai High’s Lily Thompson is delighted with her marks this morning.

‘One of the worst sleeps of my life’:Class of 2024 receive HSC results and ATARs

Lily Thompson took on some of the HSC’s most difficult subjects,and is thrilled with her band 4s and 5s,while her classmate Isaac Warwar was shocked by his ATAR.

  • byChristopher Harris
HSC 2024 top schools

North Sydney Boys goes back-to-back atop the HSC rankings

The race between North Sydney Boys and James Ruse was close,while a private school has surged into third.

  • byLucy Carroll,Nigel Gladstone,Christopher Harris,Nick Newling andAnthony Segaert
HSC Students across the state have opened their ATAR results after the UAC website crashed.
1:30

Students from NSW react to their 2024 ATAR

HSC Students across the state have opened their ATAR results after the UAC website crashed.

HSC 2024

How your school ranked in the 2024 HSC

See the top schools and look up your school in our interactive list.

HSC 2024

The 2024 HSC honour roll:Every student with a top band listed

Search by student or school to see who received a mark above 90 per cent.

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Menai High School student Lily Thompson opens her HSC results on Wednesday,December 18,2024.
1:25

Menai High School student opens her HSC results

Menai High School student Lily Thompson opens her HSC results on Wednesday,December 18,2024.

Crowds throng Adelaide’s streets during the Fringe Festival.

Adelaide,Perth blend environmental bliss with educational opportunity

Adelaide is home to three universities and great cultural attractions,while hitting the books,then beach,is easy in the WA capital.

  • byCaroline Zielinski
Sydneysiders at Bondi’s Icebergs Pool.

Sun,surf and study – Sydney life presents a world of opportunity

Few places in the world offer a student lifestyle to match that of Australia’s premier city.

  • byCaroline Zielinski
Staying on top of your deadlines helps to reduce stress,says Lena Fomicheva.

Stressed about first-year uni? These student tips will help

We asked successful students how they made the transition to university.

  • byAlyssa Talakovski
Brisbane’s skyline and river at twilight

Brisbane adds depth to sunny vibe for students

There’s more to the Queensland capital than blue sky.

  • byCaroline Zielinski
Marvellous Melbourne.

Cafe culture,arts and sport make for Melbourne’s magic blend

Dubbed the “education state”,tertiary study is entwined in the fabric of Victorian life.

  • byCaroline Zielinski
An aerial view of Canberra from Belconnen in the morning.

Canberra:nation’s heart offers monumental time

Canberra’s appeal is underscored by its national icons.

  • byCaroline Zielinski
St Columba’s Grace Costigan came first in English extension 2.

Grace topped English in the HSC. This is what she wrote

Inspired by her Blue Mountains surroundings,HSC English dux Grace Costigan submitted a short fiction. Read two short extracts here.

  • byGrace Costigan
Anubhav Ammangi from Baptist Redeemer,who has topped HSC chemistry and software design and development,after coming first in extension 1 maths last year.

How long is a piece of string? HSC star Anubhav has the answer

Anubhav Ammangi combined his love of multiple STEM subjects to make the calculation – and has added to his tally of HSC first-in-course awards with a subject he almost dropped.

  • byChristopher Harris
HSC

The top student in every HSC subject revealed

Sydney Grammar has scooped eight first-in-course awards,while Knox and Pymble Ladies’ College were not far behind. Search the list for the top student in every course.

  • byLucy Carroll,Nigel Gladstone andChristopher Harris
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Santa Sabina College students Tanisha Chari and Rochelle Dias achieved perfect scores of 45 in the IB.
Updated

‘Cheering out of happiness’:The year 12s who received perfect IB scores

Some 827 NSW International Baccalaureate students received their results on Tuesday morning,ahead of HSC results being released on Wednesday.

  • byDaniella White
Seb and Sophie
Opinion

A fantastic school like ours should be replicated,not erased

Freshwater Senior Campus has been transformational for many of its students. So why is the department tinkering with it?

  • bySophie Rawstorne andSebastian Rayel
Anubhav Ammangi,who has now come first in three HSC subjects,explains how to calculate it. And why it matters.
1:59

How long is a piece of string?

Anubhav Ammangi,who has now come first in three HSC subjects,explains how to calculate it. And why it matters.

Students across the state opened their results on Saturday afternoon,and have posted their reactions to TikTok.
2:46

Students from WA react to their 2024 ATAR

Students across the state opened their results on Saturday afternoon,and have posted their reactions to TikTok.

Happy together:Andrew and Aleena Macfarlane,Jana and Tina Grkavac,Alyssa and Michael Makhoul and Brody and Charlize Martyn.

You met these kindy twins 13 years ago. Now,they reveal the best (and worst) parts of their schooling

As they await their HSC results on Wednesday,these students reflect on their schooling.

  • byChristopher Harris
UNSW student Hayley Jiang.

How Hayley took control of her personal safety

Like many women,Hayley Jiang takes precautions to ensure her safety but she feels safer on campus.

  • byJoanne Brookfield
UNSW has signed a deal with ChatGPT
Exclusive

It was called a ‘cheat bot’. Now,this uni is paying for students to use it

The deal with the US-based technology company would give access to students and academics to a special version of ChatGPT.

  • byDaniella White
Freshwater Senior College
Exclusive

‘Absolute insanity’:Parents,students vow to fight changes at top Sydney school

The NSW government will turn a northern beaches senior high school into a year 7 to 12 campus under a plan to expand access to co-education.

  • byLucy Carroll
Rod and Deonie Fiford and Niamh with the rocket that rekindled his passion for building blocks.
Explainer

A good toy can be the building blocks of a career,or just a way to skip church

Not all toys say “educational” on the box. Still,some can spark lifelong learning. Here’s what the experts put in toy boxes.

  • byJackson Graham
(Clockwise from top left):Briony Scott,Jelena Dokic,Sally McManus,Ita Buttrose
Opinion

The best bits of Fitz. My best chats of 2024

This year,I published 46 interviews in this space. These are the exchanges that most resonated with you,or most moved me,or turned out to be particularly prescient.

  • byPeter FitzSimons
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HSC where are they now 2024:Andrew Ngai,Cindy Pan,Vidhushan Paheerathan,Jane Thomson.

They topped the HSC over the past 40 years. Where are they now?

More than 76,000 HSC students – the largest-ever cohort – will receive their marks on Wednesday. These are the lessons graduates from the past four decades have for them.

  • byDaniel Lo Surdo
Opinion

Dickens may be out,but I’d be thrilled to teach these HSC texts

This HSC English syllabus overhaul is a micro-history of why it is so important to keep fighting over books.

  • bySophie Gee
Burwood High School students (L-R) Tiare Ceran-Jerusalemy,Aditi Narwania,Lily Munier-Wotton,and Angela An in the school library on Wednesday.

Dickens,Orwell and Plath dumped from HSC English lists

Female authors,poets and directors will make up 49 per cent of creative works on the prescribed text list,but some teachers have criticised the changes.

  • byChristopher Harris
Schools composite for rates
Exclusive

Broke and desperate for cash,North Sydney Council asks top private schools to pay voluntary rates

The cash-strapped council is also considering selling a street to SCEGGS Redlands.

  • byLucy Carroll andMegan Gorrey
Sydney schools index gif:The Ponds High

These Sydney mega-schools have 2000 students. Now they’re getting something more

Built a decade ago to cater for the growing number of children in Sydney’s north-west,The Ponds High and its neighbour,Riverbank Public,are two of the city’s super-sized public schools.

  • byChristopher Harris
Bondi Public School’s parents&citizens association has told parents the school has requested the P&C contribute $80,000 for a teacher’s wage next year.

The public school asking parents to pay $80,000 for an extra teacher

An eastern suburbs public school has asked its parents and citizens’ association to help cover teaching costs next year.

  • byLucy Carroll
Composite of private schools.

The private schools paying senior staff more than $300,000

Some of Sydney’s top private schools posted surpluses of millions of dollars last year before imposing sharp fee hikes on parents.

  • byChristopher Harris
The Sydney Church of England Grammar School in Sydney’s north shore.

Co-ed principal recruited to lead one of Sydney’s oldest boys’ schools

Shore’s former headmaster,Tim Petterson,was dismissed following a culture review by the school’s government board.

  • byLucy Carroll
The pro-Palestine encampment at the University of Sydney.
Opinion

Sydney Uni’s ‘enforced civility’ is an assault on free speech – and likely unlawful

It could become one of the most restrictive campuses in the country for peaceful protest,intellectual freedom and critical debate.

  • bySarah Schwartz
The humanities have taken an enrolment hit,according to the latest figures.

Students were unfazed at a $40,000 HECS debt. Years on,reality has sunk in

Students flocked to arts degrees during the pandemic. But almost four years on,alarm bells are ringing.

  • byDaniella White
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St Ives North

Revealed:The state’s top primary and high school performers in NAPLAN 2024

Public schools St Ives North and Oakhill Drive achieved similar overall score results to high-fee private girls schools Kambala and Ravenswood.

  • byLucy Carroll andNigel Gladstone

Maths gap between Australian boys and girls among worst in world

Boys now eclipse girls at both primary and high school in the latest international maths and science tests. See how Australia ranks.

  • byLucy Carroll andChristopher Harris
Fairfield west

The state’s high-achieving NAPLAN schools for 2024 revealed

The national curriculum authority has identified NSW schools achieving above-average results compared with students of similar backgrounds.

  • byChristopher Harris andLucy Carroll
Judy McMahon,the owner of Catalina Restaurant in Rose Bay,relies on foreign hospitality students.
Exclusive

‘Australians don’t want to do the work’:Top restaurants slam migration crackdown

Judy McMahon,owner of Rose Bay harbourside restaurant Catalina,said more than half of her employees were on visas.

  • byDaniella White