Is Private Primary School Worth It? What the Data Says

For most Australian families, the data points to Year 7, not Prep, as the point where private schooling starts to look different. In 2025, 33% of Year 6 students were in a Catholic or independent school; in Year 7 it was 44%. About one in six children who finished Year 6 in a government school in 2024 was, on net, in a non-government Year 7 a year later. At nine schools whose 2026 fee schedules we read this week, the seven primary years cost between $17,910 and $262,048 per child — as much as 3.3 to 6.0 years of the same school's secondary fees.

That does not make private primary a mistake. It makes it a choice you can make on purpose, for reasons that hold up, rather than because it feels like the safe default. Here is what the national data shows, what private primary does and does not buy, and a short test for your own family.

Key takeaways

• The private share jumps at Year 7, not at Prep. It stays near a third in every primary year (31.9% to 33.0%), then reaches 44.2% in Year 7 (ABS, 2025).
• About 1 in 6 public primary students switch at Year 7 (net). Government schools had 37,549 fewer Year 7s in 2025 than Year 6s in 2024, while Catholic and independent schools had 40,060 more. In NSW the net share was 19.0%, up from 15.1% a decade earlier.
• Year 7 is the biggest door into a private school. Independent schools' 2025 Year 7 cohort (71,118) was 48% larger than their 2024 Year 6 cohort (48,047).
• Private primary does not buy more teacher time on average. Independent primaries run 13.7 students per teacher, the same as government primaries; Catholic primaries run 14.9. The gap opens in secondary.
• Switching at Year 7 did not change NAPLAN growth in a University of New England study of students tracked from Year 3 to Year 9.
• The primary years are not the cheap years at expensive schools. At the nine schools we checked, Prep to Year 6 costs $17,910–$34,127 at Catholic systemic schools, $62,580–$76,860 at mid-fee independent schools and $219,039–$262,048 at high-fee ones (2026 fees, per child).

How many families go public for primary, then private for high school?

About one in six nationally, and closer to one in five in NSW. We followed the same group of children through the ABS enrolment counts: government schools had 224,020 students in Year 6 in 2024 and 186,471 in Year 7 in 2025. That is 37,549 fewer, or 16.8%. Over the same year, Catholic Year 7s outnumbered the previous year's Catholic Year 6s by 16,989, and independent schools gained 23,071.

These are net figures. Some children move the other way, and families move between states and countries. But the national cohort grew by only about 2,500 in that year, so the shift is almost entirely between sectors, not in or out of the country.

The shift has grown. In the two states with the longest clean comparison, NSW and Victoria, the net share of public Year 6 students not in a public Year 7 the following year has risen since 2020:

Nationally the figure was 15.7% in 2022 and 16.8% in 2025. (Earlier national years are not comparable because South Australia moved Year 7 into high school only in 2022.)

What it means for you: if you are planning on a private high school, you would be joining one of the largest groups of families in the country by starting in the public system. Year 7 is when private schools take their biggest intake.

Can my child get into a private high school without its primary school?

At most schools, yes — Year 7 is when the doors open widest. Across Australia, independent schools had 71,118 students in Year 7 in 2025 against 48,047 in Year 6 the year before: on net, roughly one Year 7 place in three went to a child who was not in that sector in Year 6. Catholic schools' Year 7 cohort was 29% larger than their Year 6.

The exception is the individual school. A school with a large junior school and a long waiting list may fill most of Year 7 from its own Year 6. Before you decide on primary, ask the high school you have in mind two questions, in writing:

1. How many Year 7 places go to students from outside your junior school?
2. Do junior-school students have guaranteed entry to Year 7, and when do external applications for Year 7 open?

Some independent schools open Year 7 applications years in advance, so the time to ask is well before Year 6. Our Year 5–6 high school timeline walks through the dates.

Does private primary mean smaller classes?

Not on average. The ABS counts full-time-equivalent students per full-time-equivalent teacher, and in primary the independent and government sectors are identical, at 13.7. Catholic primaries are higher, at 14.9. In secondary the picture changes: 10.5 in independent schools, 11.9 in Catholic and 12.0 in government.

A ratio is not a class size — it includes specialist teachers who do not run a home class, and individual schools vary widely. Ask any school you are considering for its actual class sizes in the year your child would start. But if smaller classes are your reason for paying, the national data says that difference is concentrated in the secondary years.

Do children at private primary schools do better?

Their raw results are higher, but the gap largely disappears once family background is counted. Sally Larsen and Alexander Forbes of the University of New England tracked students' NAPLAN results from Year 3 to Year 9, and published the study in The Australian Educational Researcher in 2022. Writing about it, they said private-school students' NAPLAN scores "were no different to those in public schools, after accounting for socioeconomic background."

They also looked at exactly the families this article is about — children who went to a public primary and then a private school from Year 7. That group scored highest in reading and numeracy in every test year — including Years 3 and 5, before they moved. In the authors' words, "there was no evidence that making the switch to a private school added to students' learning growth."

Two cautions keep this fair. The research measures NAPLAN, which is reading and numeracy, not everything a school does. And the same authors note that private school students "may have access to other non-academic benefits, such as more opportunities for sports, excursions and other extracurricular activities." That is a real difference, and it is the one worth pricing.

What do the primary years actually cost?

Between 35.5% and 49.8% of the full 13-year bill, at the nine schools we checked — and the dearer the school, the closer primary fees sit to secondary ones. We read each school's own 2026 schedule and added up the compulsory per-student fees and levies for every year from the first year of school to Year 12, for a first child before any discount.

Three things stand out:

1. At high-fee schools, a primary year costs about 80 to 85% of a secondary year. Barker's primary years average $36,787 against $45,864 in secondary; Churchie's average $31,291 against $36,767. Primary is not a discount year there.
2. At Catholic systemic schools the step is steeper. At St Luke's in Marsden Park a primary year averages $2,559 and a secondary year $5,412, so its primary years add up to 3.3 years of secondary fees. Of the nine schools we checked, the three systemic Catholic schools had the lowest primary fees by a wide margin.
3. Everywhere, the seven primary years cost as much as 3.3 to 6.0 years of the same school's secondary fees. That is the real price of starting early rather than at Year 7.

The number to take into the decision: at a mid-fee independent school, private primary costs roughly $62,580 to $76,860 per child. Starting at Year 7 instead means that money is not spent — though public primary still has costs of its own, such as uniforms, excursions and voluntary contributions.

Fees change every year and differ by school, so treat these nine as a guide to the shape of the bill, not a quote. Our Year 7 fee cliff analysis shows the same step at more schools, and our Catholic vs independent fee comparison covers the sector gap.

When is private primary worth it?

It can be the right decision. It is most defensible when at least one of these is true:

• ✓ The high school you want fills Year 7 mostly from its own junior school, and you have confirmed that in writing.
• ✓ Your child needs something your local public primary cannot provide — a particular learning support, a language program, or a faith-based education that matters to your family.
• ✓ Your zoned public primary is not an option — you are out of zone for the school you want, or it is full.
• ✓ You can pay for every year through to Year 12 without the primary fees squeezing the secondary ones.

It is harder to justify when:

• ✗ The main reason is NAPLAN results or smaller classes. On the national numbers above, neither shows up in primary.
• ✗ Paying for primary would stretch you, and you plan on private secondary anyway. At the mid-fee schools we checked, the primary years alone come to $62,580–$76,860 per child.

Check the public option first

The public-primary route starts with one fact: which government school your address is zoned for. Our school catchment checker holds 4,010 government primary school zones — 1,655 in NSW, 1,248 in Victoria, 1,029 in Queensland and 78 in South Australia — so you can see your zoned primary and the nearest non-government alternatives, with distances, before you pay a single application fee. Our catchment guide covers how zoning works in every state.

If the extras are what draw you to a private primary, they can often be bought separately. Our directory lists 7,931 kids' activities across 2,841 suburbs (live count, 28 September 2026), including 669 academic, 419 creative arts and 126 music programs — see what is near your school on kids' activities or in our Kids Activity Index. Every state except the ACT also runs a kids' sport and activity voucher, and our guide to what kids' sport costs shows where the money goes.

For the secondary decision itself, our state fee pages list published private school fees for NSW, Victoria, Queensland, WA and SA — always confirm the current schedule with the school.

Frequently asked questions

Is private primary school worth it in Australia? It depends on why you want it. National data shows the private share of students jumps at Year 7, private primaries do not average more teacher time than government primaries, and switching at Year 7 did not change NAPLAN growth in the UNE study. Private primary is easiest to justify when the high school you want fills Year 7 from its own junior school, or your child needs something the local public school cannot offer.

How many families switch from public primary to private high school? In 2025, government schools had 16.8% fewer Year 7 students than they had Year 6 students in 2024 — about one in six, net. In NSW it was 19.0% and in Victoria 17.2%.

Can my child get into a private high school if they went to a public primary? At most schools, yes. Independent schools' Year 7 cohort was 48% larger than their Year 6 cohort in 2025, so Year 7 is their largest intake. Ask each school how many Year 7 places go to external applicants and when applications open.

Do private primary schools have smaller classes? Not on average. In 2025 both independent and government primary schools had 13.7 full-time-equivalent students per teacher, and Catholic primaries had 14.9. The difference appears in secondary, where independent schools average 10.5.

Do private school students get better NAPLAN results? Their raw scores are higher, but a University of New England study found no difference after accounting for socioeconomic background, and no extra growth for students who switched to private school at Year 7.

How much does private primary school cost in Australia? At nine schools we checked for 2026, a primary year cost from $2,133 (Kindergarten at a Catholic systemic school in western Sydney) to $41,490 (Year 6 at Barker College), counting compulsory fees and levies for a first child. The full seven primary years ranged from $17,910 to $262,048 per child.

Related reading

• The Year 7 cliff: when private school fees actually jump
• How to choose a high school: the Year 5–6 timeline
• Public vs Catholic vs independent schools
• What six years of private school costs, and how families pay
• Private school scholarships: the complete guide

How we checked: enrolment and staffing figures are from the ABS, Schools 2025 (released 5 March 2026), Tables 42b and 53a; the switch figures are our own calculation from those counts, following each year's Year 6 cohort into Year 7 the next year. The research is Larsen, Forbes, Little, Alaba and Coventry, "The public–private debate: school sector differences in academic achievement from Year 3 to Year 9?", The Australian Educational Researcher (2022), quoted from the authors' own summary in The Conversation (21 February 2022). Fees are each school's own published 2026 schedule, read on 28 September 2026: compulsory per-student tuition and levies for a first child before discounts, excluding per-family charges such as building levies. Barker College's Year 10 technology levy depends on the device chosen and is not published, so its Year 10 figure is slightly low. Catchment and activity counts are live AroundSchools data as at 28 September 2026. AroundSchools does not rank schools.