THE NUMBER of students enrolled in Independent schools in Newcastle, Lake Macquarie and the Hunter Valley grew by 3.5 per cent in 2022, as the state recorded an exodus from public schools.
The figure is slightly above the national growth in independent schools, with numbers increasing from 13,609 in 2021 to 14,090 in 2022.
Australian Bureau of Statistics data showed that while the state's overall student numbers declined slightly last year, enrolments in independent schools grew by 6,858 to a record high of 228,602 students.
It means the state's independent schools have enrolled more than half of the additional students since 2014 in NSW, Association of Independent Schools NSW chief executive Margery Evans said.
She said much of the growth was in low and mid-fee Anglican, Islamic and Christian schools in Sydney's newer suburbs.
"Almost all of these schools serve low to middle income communities in high growth areas," she said.
"Demand for places in many independent schools exceeds supply; schools report having scores of names on their waiting lists and, in some cases, hundreds of students are turned away."
Ms Evans said the sector's growth would be higher if not for enrolment caps imposed on many long-established independent schools and delays in planning approvals for capital works aimed at increasing student numbers.
She estimated 115,000 additional students would need to be accommodated over the next decade across public, Catholic and independent schools.
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