Dunlea Centre, Australia's Original Boys' Town
Engadine NSW 2233
Dunlea Centre, Australia's Original Boys' Town is an independent special school in Engadine, NSW for Years 4–12 with about 55 students. Its ICSEA is 962, where the national average is 1000.
Sector, ICSEA, Enrolments, Language background, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander share, Year range, Teaching staff, School website: ACARA School Profile 2025. Source: Australian Curriculum, Assessment and Reporting Authority (ACARA). Terms
About this school, from public sources
Drawn from public online sources: Dunlea Centre, formerly Boys' Town Engadine, was founded in 1939 and is run in the Salesian tradition. It provides therapeutic support and education for young people, using specialist teachers and social workers. A day-only primary program serves Years 3 to 6, and a residential senior program for Years 7 to 12 operates Monday to Friday.
Often praised
- Therapeutic educational support
- Specialist teachers and social workers
- Long history since 1939
This note was generated from publicly available online sources (the school's website, official pages and online feedback) as at October 2026. It reflects what is said online, not an assessment by SchoolList AU or any government body, and it deliberately records only neutral and positive points. Confidence: high. Verify anything important with the school. Report an inaccuracy.
NAPLAN
School-level NAPLAN results are published by ACARA on My School under terms that do not allow them to be reproduced here. See Dunlea Centre, Australia's Original Boys' Town on My School · Why some data is missing
Location and nearby schools
Straight-line distances. List every school within 5 to 50 km.
| School | Suburb | Type | Distance | ICSEA | Students |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Southern Cross Baptist Church Christian School | Engadine | Independent k–12 / combined | 0.6 km | 1,108 | 42 |
| Shire Christian School | Barden Ridge | Independent k–12 / combined | 3.3 km | 1,116 | 926 |
| Lucas Heights Community School | Barden Ridge | Public k–12 / combined | 3.3 km | 1,038 | 795 |
| Aspect South East Sydney School, Loftus | Loftus | Independent special | 5.0 km | — | — |
| Cook School | Loftus | Public special | 5.1 km | 956 | 66 |
| Aspect South East Sydney School, Menai | Menai | Independent special | 5.4 km | — | — |
| Minerva School | Sutherland | Public special | 5.9 km | 1,039 | 47 |
| Inaburra School | Bangor | Independent k–12 / combined | 6.0 km | 1,123 | 1,211 |
Schools with a similar ICSEA in NSW
Same sector and type, ICSEA within 25 points. This is the comparison that separates teaching from postcode.
| School | Suburb | Type | Students | ICSEA |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| North Academy | West Wallsend | Independent special · 9-11 | 35 | 966 |
| Arise Christian College | Metford | Independent special | 61 | 971 |
| Valley Hope Christian School | Townsend | Independent special | 51 | 951 |
| Alesco Secondary College | Cooks Hill | Independent special · 9-12 | 664 | 949 |
| ET Australia Secondary College | Gosford | Independent special · 7-12 | 280 | 976 |
| NextSense School - Spoken Language Program | Macquarie Park | Independent special | 22 | 977 |
About this data
Figures are from the latest published datasets and can lag the school by a year. Confirm enrolment rules and catchment boundaries with the school or department before relying on them.