NSW school system

The NSW Department of Education has been educating students in NSW government schools for over 150 years. The NSW government schools network spans over more than 2,000 schools across Sydney and the rest of New South Wales.

NSW government schools offer education to students studying in both primary and secondary school.

All primary schools and most high schools (secondary) are co-educational (boys and girls), while a small number of high schools are single sex (boys only or girls only).

High school students can choose from a range of comprehensive schools including specialist schools in performing arts, creative arts, sports, languages and technology.

Students who successfully complete Years 11 and 12 in NSW are awarded a Higher School Certificate (HSC), an internationally recognised qualification that allows students to apply for university study both in Australia and abroad.

Education pathways

Calendar

Our academic school year runs from January to December and is divided into four terms.

	2026	2027
Term 1	27 January - 2 April	28 January - 9 April
Term 2	20 April - 3 July	26 April - 2 July
Term 3	20 July - 25 September	19 July - 24 September
Term 4	12 October - 17 December	11 October - 20 December

School development days

School development days take place at the start of each term. Students do not attend on school development days, although supervision is available when no other arrangements can be made.

	2026 school development days	2027 school development days
Term 1	Tuesday 27 January to Friday 30 January	Thursday 28 January to Tuesday 2 February
Term 2	Monday 20 April and Tuesday 21 April	Tuesday 27 April and Wednesday 28 April
Term 3	Monday 20 July	Monday 19 July
Term 4	Monday 12 October	Monday 11 October

School enrolment dates:

Primary school students can enrol from Term 1 to Term 4.

High school students in Years 7-10 can enrol from Term 1 to Term 4.

High school students in Year 11 must enrol in Term 1 or at the beginning of Term 2.

Students in the Temporary Residents Program can enrol at anytime during the school year.