Caringbah High School

A fully selective public high school in Caringbah, in Sydney’s south, for boys and girls in Years 7 to 12. Fully selective means every student was chosen for a selective place. Here’s how to get in, how its students do in the HSC (the exams at the end of Year 12), and what the school is like.

Bing’s Academy is independent of the school. Every figure here is from a public source, named under each section.

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How could your child get in?

Pick the year your child is in now (2026).

150 places in Year 7. In Year 11, the principal sets the number.

Most Caringbah students start in Year 7. Years 7 to 10 are each limited to 150 places. In Year 11, the principal decides how many new students to take.

Year 7150 places, through the Selective test
Years 8–10Only when a student leaves (each year group is capped at 150)
Year 11The principal decides how many, based on HAST (the Higher Ability Selection Test, which several selective schools share for places after Year 7; see our HAST guide), school reports and an interview
Year 12The school’s page doesn’t say
What the school says

What the school says: “Student numbers at Caringbah High School are limited to 150 places in each of the year groups from 7 - 10. In year 11 the principal determines the number of new students based on their performance in the Higher Ability Selective Test (HAST), school reports and an interview.” The school’s website, read 28 October 2026

Two ways in, for places starting in 2028.

Year 7 places go through the Department’s Selective test. Places in Years 8 to 11 go through the school’s own application and HAST (the Higher Ability Selection Test), a test several selective schools share (our HAST guide).

Nov 2026DecJan 2027FebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOct
Year 7 entryYear 7 in 2028: children in Year 5 now
Apply online5 Nov to 15 Feb Selective test13 or 14 May OffersAugust
Years 8 to 11 entryYears 8 to 11 in 2028: children in Years 6 to 9 now
Apply to CaringbahMid Jun to Jul HAST Early August ResultsSep to Oct, usually

The Year 7 application and test dates are official. The other dates are typical, based on the 2026 round: the school hasn’t announced its own dates for 2028 entry yet.

Who runs it, fees and the school’s website

Year 7 entry

Who runs it
The NSW Department of Education, for all selective schools
Score needed
Not published. It changes every year.
The test
Done on a computer, in Year 6, in four parts: reading, mathematical reasoning, thinking skills and writing (our Selective test guide)
Late applications
Not accepted
Who can apply
Families living in NSW by the start of the school year. Conditions may apply if your child isn’t an Australian citizen or permanent resident, or a New Zealand citizen.

Years 8 to 11 entry

Who runs it
Caringbah High School, for its own places
What it involves
HAST, then a committee looks at your child’s school and NAPLAN (the national literacy and numeracy tests in Years 3, 5, 7 and 9) reports. Children being considered for a place are interviewed.
Fee
If Caringbah is your first choice: $140, and your child sits HAST at Caringbah. If it’s your second or third choice, after another HAST school: $50. Your child sits HAST once, at your first-choice school, and you apply to each school separately.
Who can apply
Families living in NSW by the start of the school year. Conditions may apply if your child isn’t an Australian citizen or permanent resident, or a New Zealand citizen.
Late applications
Not accepted
School website
Caringbah High School’s website
Transfer readiness quiz, for HAST

Inside Caringbah · once your child is in

What students take or can be chosen for, year by year.

Every student here already has a selective place. These are the classes and courses the school chooses students for once they’re in, and any that every student takes.

  1. Years 7 and 9
    Maths acceleration pathways

    Pathways start in Years 7 and 9, and Years 9 and 10 include accelerated HSC Mathematics.

  2. Years 9–10
    Investigating Science

    An HSC subject, completed in Years 9 and 10.

  3. Year 12

    The HSC.

The school doesn’t publish how students are chosen: ask.

Source: NSW Department of Education (Year 7; who can apply); Caringbah High School’s website and enrolment documents (Years 8 to 11; other classes), read 28 October 2026.

Above the NSW average in all 22 subjects listed.

The HSC is the set of exams at the end of Year 12. Each HSC subject is marked out of 100. The school’s yearly report lists the average mark of its Year 12 students in each subject, next to the NSW average. Subjects with fewer than 10 students are not listed. Selective schools choose their students by test, so their averages usually sit above the NSW average: the useful part is which subjects are strongest.

Caringbah High School · HSC 2025Average mark out of 100, Year 12
The NSW average includes every student in NSW who took the subject.

Source: the school’s 2025 annual report, NSW Department of Education (CC BY 4.0). These results are shown on their own. We don’t rank or compare schools by results.

301 Band 6 results in 2025. The most in five years.

A Band 6 is the top result in an HSC subject. Here is what the count tells you, and what it doesn’t.

What the count does and doesn’t tell you
What it is
A mark of 90 or more out of 100 in one subject. In Extension subjects the top band is called E4, and the counts here include E4s.
Where it comes from
NESA, which runs the HSC, lists the students who get one, with their school.
What it misses
One student with three Band 6s counts three times. It also tells you nothing about students who got under 90.
  • 141 students got at least one Band 6 in 2025.
  • 14 students were All-round Achievers: a Band 6 in 10 or more units of study.
  • 2 state ranks: 2nd in Engineering Studies and 6th in Legal Studies.

Source: NESA’s HSC merit lists, 2021 to 2025, counted by Bing’s Academy. These counts are shown on their own. We don’t rank or compare schools by results.

900 students, with more boys than girls.

Students, 2025
900: 558 boys and 342 girls Between 60% and 62% boys every year since 2022.
Attendance
94.4% of school days, Semester 1 2025Average for NSW public schools, Years 7 to 12: 83.7%
After Year 12
100% of the 2025 Year 12 group went on to universityThe school’s own count, in its annual report
Home language
64% of students speak a language other than English at home, or have a parent who does
Getting there
Caringbah Station (T4 Cronulla line), a 13‑minute walkPlan a trip (opens in a new tab)
Address
85 Willarong Rd, Caringbah NSW 2229 · Open in Google Maps (opens in a new tab)

Source: the school’s 2025 annual report; NSW Department of Education school data, 2 October 2026 (CC BY 4.0); Google Maps and Transport for NSW.

Before you apply.

Does Caringbah High School use HAST?

Yes, for Years 8 to 11. HAST is the Higher Ability Selection Test. The schools that use it hold it on one shared day in August, and your child sits it once. For Year 7, children sit the Selective test instead.

How many Year 7 places are there?

150: 75 for boys and 75 for girls, from the Department’s list (read 28 October 2026).

Is Caringbah High School coed?

Yes. In 2025 it had 558 boys and 342 girls.

What mark do you need to get in?

The Department doesn’t publish one. It changes every year, depending on who applies.

Aiming for Caringbah?

Of the 22 students we taught who sat the Selective test in 2026, 17 received an offer of a selective place (not always at this school). We will never promise a place: the Department marks the exam and the cut-offs move every year. What we can promise is that you will know where your child stands, for Year 7 or for HAST.

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