Penola Catholic College Emu Plains
Updated Oct 2026 · ACARA 2025Emu Plains, New South Wales 2750 · Penrith LGA
About Penola Catholic College Emu Plains
Penola Catholic College Emu Plains is a catholic high school located in Emu Plains, New South Wales (2750), within the Penrith local government area. It caters for students from 7 to 12 and in 2025 enrolled 709 students (328 girls and 381 boys). The school is affiliated with Catholic Schools NSW.
Penola Catholic College Emu Plains has an ICSEA value of 1024, indicating a socio-educational profile close to the national average of 1000. That places it in the 58th percentile of Australian schools. 15% of students come from the top socio-educational quarter and 22% from the bottom quarter.
The school employs 69 teachers (61.0 full-time equivalent) and 20 non-teaching staff, giving a student-to-teacher ratio of about 11.6 to 1. Enrolments have grown by 36% over the past five years.
On the Success Index, Penola Catholic College Emu Plains scores 65.5 out of 100, placing it in the top 50% of secondary schools nationally and 155th of 539 secondary schools in NSW (2nd of 17 in the Penrith area).
Success Index breakdown
Each component is a percentile against schools of the same type across Australia.
- Socio-educational advantage (ICSEA) (50%)ICSEA 1024
- Students in the top advantage quarter (15%)15% of students
- Teacher resourcing (students per teacher) (15%)11.6 students per teacher
- Enrolment growth vs local area (5 years) (10%)+36% enrolments since 2020 (area median +2%)
- ICSEA trend (5 years) (10%)+13 ICSEA points since 2020
The Success Index summarises the academic environment of a school community using official ACARA data. It is not a measure of teaching quality or student results. Read the methodology.
Student profile
Distribution of students across socio-educational advantage (SEA) quarters, plus community characteristics.
Enrolments by year level
How Penola Catholic College Emu Plains's 709 students are spread across year levels in 2025.
Enrolment trend
How enrolments at Penola Catholic College Emu Plains have changed over the past decade.
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Schools near Penola Catholic College Emu Plains
Closest schools by straight-line distance, with their Success Index.
Nepean Creative and Performing Arts High School
Emu Plains · Government high school · 7-12
807 students · ICSEA 994 · 963 m away
Penrith Lakes Environmental Education Centre
Castlereagh · Government combined
· 1.8 km away
Emu Plains Public School
Emu Plains · Government primary · K-6
406 students · ICSEA 993 · 2.3 km away
Our Lady of The Way Primary School
Emu Plains · Catholic primary · K-6
328 students · ICSEA 1047 · 2.4 km away
St Nicholas of Myra Primary School
Penrith · Catholic primary · K-6
169 students · ICSEA 1068 · 2.4 km away
Emu Heights Public School
Emu Plains · Government primary · K-6
237 students · ICSEA 1006 · 2.8 km away
Penrith Public School
Penrith · Government primary · K-6
524 students · ICSEA 986 · 2.9 km away
Penrith High School
Penrith · Government high school · 7-12
930 students · ICSEA 1186 · 3.0 km away
Wadangali Public School
Penrith · Government primary · P-6
166 students · ICSEA 810 · 3.1 km away
Penrith South Public School
Penrith · Government primary · K-6
441 students · ICSEA 958 · 3.1 km away
Similar schools
Catholic secondary schools in NSW with a comparable ICSEA.
All Saints College
Maitland · Catholic high school · 7-12
1,191 students · ICSEA 1023
Trinity Catholic College Goulburn
Goulburn · Catholic high school · 7-12
714 students · ICSEA 1025
Xavier College
Llandilo · Catholic high school · 7-12
1,185 students · ICSEA 1025
St Paul's Catholic College
Booragul · Catholic high school · 7-12
636 students · ICSEA 1026
MacKillop College Bathurst
Bathurst · Catholic high school · 7-12
691 students · ICSEA 1027
St John the Evangelist Catholic High School
Nowra · Catholic high school · 7-12
935 students · ICSEA 1028
Frequently asked questions
Is Penola Catholic College Emu Plains a public or private school?
Penola Catholic College Emu Plains is a Catholic school, which makes it a non-government (private) school affiliated with Catholic Schools NSW.
What year levels does Penola Catholic College Emu Plains offer?
Penola Catholic College Emu Plains offers 7 to 12. It is classified by ACARA as a secondary school.
How many students attend Penola Catholic College Emu Plains?
In 2025, Penola Catholic College Emu Plains had 709 enrolled students (328 girls, 381 boys), a change of 36% over five years.
What is the ICSEA of Penola Catholic College Emu Plains?
Penola Catholic College Emu Plains has an ICSEA (Index of Community Socio-Educational Advantage) of 1024. The national average is 1000, so this indicates a socio-educational profile close to the national average of 1000. ICSEA reflects the school community, not teaching quality.
How does Penola Catholic College Emu Plains rank in NSW?
Penola Catholic College Emu Plains ranks 155th of 539 secondary schools in New South Wales on the Success Index (65.5/100), and 392nd of 1,472 nationally.
What is the student-to-teacher ratio at Penola Catholic College Emu Plains?
Penola Catholic College Emu Plains has about 11.6 students per full-time-equivalent teacher, based on 2025 ACARA staffing data.
How big is the Year 7 cohort at Penola Catholic College Emu Plains?
In 2025, Penola Catholic College Emu Plains had 174 students in Year 7 and 58 in Year 12.
Is Penola Catholic College Emu Plains co-ed?
Yes. Penola Catholic College Emu Plains is a co-educational school enrolling both girls and boys.
What other schools are near Penola Catholic College Emu Plains?
There are 10 other schools within 15 km of Penola Catholic College Emu Plains in our database. Scroll up to the "Nearby schools" section to compare them by Success Index, ICSEA and enrolments, or use the Compare tool.
Where can I get tutoring near Penola Catholic College Emu Plains?
The closest Success Tutoring centre is Success Tutoring Penrith, about 2.8 km from the school. Success Tutoring offers a free academic assessment to identify your child's strengths and learning gaps before any sessions begin.