Top 63 high schools in Northern Territory (2025)

Schools offering secondary years (Secondary and Combined schools). Ranked by the Success Index from official ACARA data; 63 schools shown out of all eligible high schools in Northern Territory.

#	School	Sector	Success Index	ICSEA	Students	Students : teacher
1	Haileybury Rendall School Berrimah · Combined · T-12	Independent	75.0 Top 25%	1082	970	10.6
2	The Essington School Rapid Creek · Combined · T-12	Independent	71.1 Top 25%	1128	782	12.2
3	Alice Springs Steiner School Ross · Combined · T-9	Independent	68.5 Top 25%	1085	162	10.6
4	O'Loughlin Catholic College Karama · Secondary · 7-12	Catholic	61.4 Top 50%	1025	599	12.0
5	St Philip's College Alice Springs · Secondary · 7-12	Independent	61.3 Top 50%	1031	502	10.5
6	Milkwood Steiner School Berrimah · Combined · T-8	Independent	61.0 Top 50%	1053	118	8.1
7	Darwin High School The Gardens · Secondary · U, 10-12	Government	60.4 Top 50%	1050	1,286	14.6
8	MacKillop Catholic College Johnston · Secondary · 7-12	Catholic	59.1 Top 50%	1001	795	10.4
9	Darwin Middle School The Gardens · Secondary · 7-9	Government	57.5 Top 50%	1065	663	16.5
10	Nhulunbuy Christian College Nhulunbuy · Combined · T-10	Independent	56.5 Top 50%	1056	138	11.2
11	St John's Catholic College The Gardens · Secondary · 7-12	Catholic	54.3 Top 50%	957	287	10.7
12	Dripstone Secondary College Tiwi · Secondary · 7-9	Government	51.7 Top 50%	994	605	14.2
13	NT Christian College Marrara · Secondary · 11-12	Independent	50.0 Lower 50%	987	93	8.9
14	Nightcliff High School Nightcliff · Secondary · 7-9	Government	49.6 Lower 50%	986	409	13.6
15	Our Lady of the Sacred Heart Catholic College Alice Springs · Combined · T-12	Catholic	49.4 Top 50%	1028	823	13.0
16	St Joseph's Catholic College Katherine · Combined · T-12	Catholic	47.5 Lower 50%	974	299	11.5
17	Good Shepherd Lutheran College Howard Springs · Combined · T-12	Independent	46.8 Lower 50%	1025	1,117	12.4
18	SEDA College NT Fannie Bay · Secondary · 10-12	Independent	43.9 Lower 50%	980	150	13.2
19	Sattler Christian College Freds Pass · Combined · T-10	Independent	39.6 Lower 50%	997	245	15.5
20	Araluen Christian College Alice Springs · Combined · T-10	Independent	39.4 Lower 50%	997	104	16.3
21	Palmerston Christian College Marlow Lagoon · Combined · T-10	Independent	36.7 Lower 50%	1008	365	15.0
22	Katherine School Of The Air Katherine · Combined · T-9	Government	34.1 Lower 50%	931	137	7.3
23	Gunbalanya School Gunbalanya · Combined · T-12	Government	32.6 Lower 50%	668	231	9.2
24	Yipirinya School Alice Springs · Combined · T-10	Independent	32.0 Lower 50%	729	186	11.2
25	Northern Territory School of Distance Education The Gardens · Secondary · 9-12	Government	30.6 Lower 50%	837	252	2.8
26	Ngukurr School Ngukurr · Combined · T-12	Government	29.5 Lower 50%	676	207	8.0
27	Alyangula Area School Alyangula · Combined · T-11	Government	28.3 Lower 50%	888	203	10.2
28	Marrara Christian College Marrara · Combined · T-10	Independent	28.2 Lower 50%	962	289	12.8
29	Top End School of Flexible Learning Malak · Secondary · 5-12	Government	28.2 Lower 50%	789	123	3.6
30	Maningrida College Maningrida · Combined · T-12	Government	27.8 Lower 50%	601	584	6.3
31	Borroloola School Borroloola · Combined · T-12	Government	27.7 Lower 50%	665	169	9.0
32	Shepherdson College Galiwinku · Combined · T-12	Government	27.0 Lower 50%	664	458	8.8
33	Milingimbi School Milingimbi · Combined · T-12	Government	26.1 Lower 50%	645	236	9.3
34	Laynhapuy Homelands School Yirrkala · Combined · T-12	Government	25.9 Lower 50%	639	120	4.2
35	Centralian Middle School Alice Springs · Secondary · 7-9	Government	25.7 Lower 50%	816	338	9.0
36	Centralian Senior College Alice Springs · Secondary · 10-12	Government	25.3 Lower 50%	879	351	9.1
37	Nhulunbuy High School Nhulunbuy · Secondary · 7-12	Government	25.2 Lower 50%	903	279	10.2
38	Jabiru Area School Jabiru · Combined · T-12	Government	24.9 Lower 50%	778	149	10.7
39	Taminmin College Humpty Doo · Secondary · 7-12	Government	24.9 Lower 50%	937	1,049	12.3
40	Tennant Creek High School Tennant Creek · Secondary · 7-12	Government	24.5 Lower 50%	754	142	7.4
41	Yirara College Alice Springs · Secondary · 7-12	Independent	24.3 Lower 50%	654	190	10.8
42	Yirrkala School Yirrkala · Combined · T-12	Government	24.3 Lower 50%	624	132	6.6
43	Casuarina Senior College Moil · Secondary · 10-12	Government	23.3 Lower 50%	949	690	14.4
44	Kalkaringi School Kalkarindji · Combined · T-11	Government	23.2 Lower 50%	593	164	6.0
45	Xavier Catholic College Bathurst Island · Secondary · 7-12	Catholic	22.8 Lower 50%	636	92	6.6
46	Ltyentye Apurte Catholic School Santa Teresa · Combined · T-12	Catholic	22.4 Lower 50%	622	111	9.4
47	Palmerston College Driver · Secondary · 7-12	Government	22.2 Lower 50%	884	1,267	11.4
48	Batchelor Area School Batchelor · Combined · T-12	Government	22.1 Lower 50%	723	105	12.3
49	Our Lady of the Sacred Heart Thamarrurr Catholic College Wadeye · Combined · T-12	Catholic	21.5 Lower 50%	622	467	12.3
50	Lajamanu School Lajamanu · Combined · T-12	Government	21.2 Lower 50%	598	164	10.8
51	Nganmarriyanga School Nganmarriyanga · Combined · T-12	Government	20.8 Lower 50%	596	99	9.0
52	Gapuwiyak School Gapuwiyak · Combined · T-12	Government	19.7 Lower 50%	596	205	7.6
53	Ntaria School Hermannsburg · Combined · T-12	Government	19.6 Lower 50%	613	155	7.4
54	Barunga School Barunga · Combined · T-11	Government	19.4 Lower 50%	614	81	9.7
55	Minyerri School Miniyeri · Combined · T-11	Government	19.4 Lower 50%	653	134	13.3
56	Ramingining School Ramingining · Combined · T-12	Government	19.4 Lower 50%	660	263	14.1
57	Sanderson High School Malak · Secondary · 7-9	Government	19.4 Lower 50%	863	328	11.0
58	Ampilatwatja School Ampilatwatja · Combined · T-12	Government	19.3 Lower 50%	616	92	15.3
59	Arlparra School Utopia · Combined · T-12	Government	19.2 Lower 50%	595	165	10.2
60	Numbulwar School Numbulwar · Combined · T-12	Government	19.0 Lower 50%	597	113	7.5
61	Yuendumu School Yuendumu · Combined · T-12	Government	19.0 Lower 50%	632	157	6.5
62	Wugularr School Beswick · Combined · T-12	Government	18.7 Lower 50%	585	138	17.2
63	Katherine High School Katherine East · Secondary · 7-12	Government	11.8 Lower 50%	797	468	12.5

There are 63 high schools in Northern Territory eligible for this list; the top 63 are shown. Haileybury Rendall School in Berrimah is ranked first with a Success Index of 75.0 and an ICSEA of 1082. 40 of the top 63 are government schools and 23 are Catholic or independent; the median ICSEA across the list is 816.

The top 10 high schools in Northern Territory for 2025 are: 1. Haileybury Rendall School (Berrimah); 2. The Essington School (Rapid Creek); 3. Alice Springs Steiner School (Ross); 4. O'Loughlin Catholic College (Karama); 5. St Philip's College (Alice Springs); 6. Milkwood Steiner School (Berrimah); 7. Darwin High School (The Gardens); 8. MacKillop Catholic College (Johnston); 9. Darwin Middle School (The Gardens); 10. Nhulunbuy Christian College (Nhulunbuy).

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Frequently asked questions

What is the best secondary school in Northern Territory?

Haileybury Rendall School in Berrimah ranks first among high schools in Northern Territory with a Success Index of 75.0 out of 100 and an ICSEA of 1082.

How are high schools in Northern Territory ranked?

Each school's Success Index combines five factors from ACARA's 2025 school profile data: ICSEA (50%), share of students in the top socio-educational quarter (15%), students per teacher (15%), five-year enrolment growth (10%) and five-year ICSEA trend (10%). Each factor is a percentile against schools of the same type nationally. Schools with fewer than 80 students are excluded.

How many public schools are in the top 100 high schools in Northern Territory?

40 of the top 63 high schools in Northern Territory are government schools; 23 are Catholic or independent.

Do these rankings include NAPLAN or ATAR results?

Not yet. ACARA does not publish school-level NAPLAN results in bulk, and ATAR results are released by state authorities in different formats. The Success Index uses the measures ACARA publishes for every school so that all schools are compared on identical data. Where a school publishes its own results we link to its website.