Sydney Distance Education High School
Forbes St, Woolloomooloo NSW 2011
Sydney Distance Education High School is a government secondary school in Woolloomooloo, NSW for Years 7–12 with about 561 students. Its ICSEA is 1,032, 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 615.
About this school, from public sources
Publicly available information describes Sydney Distance Education High School as a NSW government secondary school delivering individualised, flexible blended learning to students across a wide area from north of Wollongong to south of Newcastle and west to the Blue Mountains. It supports students unable to attend regular schooling, alongside single-subject enrolments for students at other schools. The school runs practical study days covering sciences, textiles, arts, music and hospitality, plus a student induction program, learning hubs and cultural excursions, with recent HSC results including a top-10 placement and an ARTEXPRESS selection.
Often praised
- individualised distance learning model
- strong HSC and arts recognition
- practical study days and student support programs
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 Sydney Distance Education 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 | 0.14 | 15 |
| 2024 | 0.10 | 9 |
| 2023 | 0.08 | 6 |
| 2022 | 0.10 | 8 |
| 2021 | 0.12 | 9 |
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.
Location and nearby schools
Straight-line distances. List every school within 5 to 50 km.
| School | Suburb | Type | Distance | ICSEA | Students |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| St Vincent's College | Potts Point | Independent high school | 0.4 km | 1,145 | 755 |
| SCEGGS Darlinghurst | Darlinghurst | Independent k–12 / combined | 0.6 km | 1,209 | 936 |
| William Street Campus | Woolloomooloo | Catholic high school | 0.6 km | — | — |
| St Mary's Cathedral College | Sydney | Catholic k–12 / combined | 0.6 km | 1,125 | 937 |
| Sydney Grammar School | Darlinghurst | Independent high school | 0.9 km | 1,274 | 1,925 |
| Conservatorium High School | Sydney | Public high school | 1.1 km | 1,194 | 153 |
| St Andrew's Cathedral School | Sydney | Independent k–12 / combined | 1.4 km | 1,189 | 1,436 |
| Australian International High School | Sydney | Independent high school | 1.5 km | 1,028 | — |
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| East Hills Girls Technology High School | Panania | Public high school · 7-12 | 759 | 1,031 |
| Sefton High SchoolPartially | Sefton | Public high school · 7-12 | 1,121 | 1,033 |
| Henry Kendall High SchoolGifted class: Gifted class | Gosford | Public high school · 7-12 | 789 | 1,030 |
| Katoomba High School | Katoomba | Public high school · 7-12 | 862 | 1,034 |
| Woonona High SchoolGifted class: Gifted class | Woonona | Public high school · 7-12 | 766 | 1,030 |
| Heathcote High SchoolGifted class: Gifted class | Heathcote | Public high school · 7-12 | 633 | 1,028 |
About this data
- nsw-doe-master
- acara-profile
- acara-enrolments-grade
- nsw-doe-enrolment-history
- nsw-nesa-hsc
- school-website
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.