Hunter River High School
Elkin Ave, Heatherbrae NSW 2324
Hunter River High School is a government secondary school in Heatherbrae, NSW for Years 7–12 with about 760 students. Its ICSEA is 899, where the national average is 1000.
Teaching staff: ACARA School Profile 2025. Source: Australian Curriculum, Assessment and Reporting Authority (ACARA). Terms
Attendance and enrolment
Enrolments by year, 2016–2025. Latest 762.
About this school, from public sources
Public information about Hunter River High School, a comprehensive co-educational secondary school in Heatherbrae near Raymond Terrace in the Hunter region, describes an enrolment of around 860 students drawing from Raymond Terrace, Salt Ash, Tanilba Bay, Seaham and Karuah. The school is noted as a P-TECH partner specialising in advanced manufacturing and aeroskills, with a STEM focus and dedicated Aboriginal education, literacy and numeracy programs. It was also recognised as one of the state's most improved schools for 2023 HSC results.
Often praised
- P-TECH aeroskills and manufacturing program
- STEM education focus
- Notable HSC results improvement
This note was generated from publicly available online sources (the school's website, official pages and online feedback) as at September 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: medium. 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 Hunter River High School on My School · Why some data is missing
HSC 2025
Last 5 years
| Year | Band 6 / E4 results per Year 12 student | Band 6 / E4 results |
|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 0.05 | 3 |
| 2024 | 0.06 | 4 |
| 2023 | 0.08 | 6 |
| 2022 | 0.10 | 7 |
| 2021 | 0.05 | 3 |
Counts are derived from NESA's published merit lists and exclude students who opted out of publication. The per-student figure divides each year's count by that year's Year 12 enrolment from ACARA's August census, so it is approximate. NSW law does not permit ranking schools by results, so no rank or percentile is shown.
Gifted and accelerated programs
Exploring Excellence Class
Many comprehensive public high schools run their own class or program for high-ability students, under names such as Gifted and Talented, Academic Extension, Academic Excellence (common in Queensland), Enrichment or SEAL. These are not a department program: each school sets its own entry (often a test or application in Year 6) and class size. Listed only where the school's own website describes a dedicated class; check details with the school.
- Year levels
- 7
- Entry
- Application, portfolio and selection day
Source: department page ↗. Check current entry dates with the school.
Location and nearby schools
Straight-line distances. List every school within 5 to 50 km.
| School | Suburb | Type | Distance | ICSEA | Students |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Irrawang High School | Raymond Terrace | Public high school | 3.9 km | 916 | 810 |
| Francis Greenway High SchoolGifted class: Gifted class | Woodberry | Public high school | 6.9 km | 912 | 742 |
| St Bede's Catholic College | Chisholm | Catholic high school | 9.7 km | 1,030 | 910 |
| Maitland Christian School | Metford | Independent k–12 / combined | 11.8 km | 1,047 | 832 |
| Medowie Christian School | Medowie | Independent k–12 / combined | 12.0 km | 1,038 | 554 |
| Hunter Christian School | Mayfield | Independent k–12 / combined | 12.1 km | 1,061 | 337 |
| Catherine McAuley Catholic College | Medowie | Catholic high school | 12.5 km | 1,019 | 884 |
| San Clemente Catholic College | Mayfield | Catholic high school | 12.7 km | 1,038 | 605 |
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Griffith High School | Griffith | Public high school · 7-12 | 606 | 899 |
| Coonabarabran High School | Coonabarabran | Public high school · 7-12 | 298 | 898 |
| Warialda High School | Warialda | Public high school · 7-12 | 197 | 900 |
| Singleton High School | Singleton | Public high school · 7-12 | 874 | 901 |
| Batemans Bay High School | Batehaven | Public high school · 7-12 | 534 | 902 |
| Cootamundra High SchoolGifted class: Gifted class | Cootamundra | Public high school · 7-12 | 202 | 902 |
About this data
- nsw-doe-master
- acara-profile
- acara-enrolments-grade
- school-site-gifted
- nsw-doe-attendance
- nsw-doe-enrolment-history
- nsw-doe-support-classes
- nsw-nesa-hsc
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.