Southern Cross School of Distance Education
Updated Oct 2026 · ACARA 2025East Ballina, New South Wales 2478 · Ballina LGA
About Southern Cross School of Distance Education
Southern Cross School of Distance Education is a public combined (K–12) school located in East Ballina, New South Wales (2478), within the Ballina local government area. It caters for students from K to 12 and in 2025 enrolled 79 students (43 girls and 36 boys).
Southern Cross School of Distance Education has an ICSEA value of 896, indicating a community facing significant socio-educational disadvantage. That places it in the 10th percentile of Australian schools. 8% of students come from the top socio-educational quarter and 57% from the bottom quarter.
The school employs 75 teachers (50.8 full-time equivalent) and 19 non-teaching staff, giving a student-to-teacher ratio of about 1.5 to 1. Enrolments have fallen by 85% over the past five years.
On the Success Index, Southern Cross School of Distance Education scores 31.0 out of 100. Because it has fewer than 80 students it is not included in ranking tables, where small enrolments make year-to-year comparisons unreliable.
Success Index breakdown
Each component is a percentile against schools of the same type across Australia.
- Socio-educational advantage (ICSEA) (50%)ICSEA 896
- Students in the top advantage quarter (15%)8% of students
- Teacher resourcing (students per teacher) (15%)1.5 students per teacher
- Enrolment growth vs local area (5 years) (10%)-85% enrolments since 2020 (area median +23%)
- ICSEA trend (5 years) (10%)-19 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 Southern Cross School of Distance Education's 79 students are spread across year levels in 2025.
Enrolment trend
How enrolments at Southern Cross School of Distance Education have changed over the past decade.
Free academic assessment
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- Your nearest centre: Success Tutoring Mount Gravatt East
Schools near Southern Cross School of Distance Education
Closest schools by straight-line distance, with their Success Index.
Southern Cross Public School
East Ballina · Government primary · K-6
388 students · ICSEA 1053 · 104 m away
Xavier Catholic College Ballina
Skennars Head · Catholic high school · 7-12
884 students · ICSEA 1081 · 2.5 km away
Biala Special School
Ballina · Independent special · U
33 students · ICSEA 898 · 2.6 km away
Ballina Coast High School
Ballina · Government high school · 7-12
722 students · ICSEA 952 · 2.7 km away
St Francis Xavier Primary School
Ballina · Catholic primary · K-6
398 students · ICSEA 1045 · 2.9 km away
Holy Family Catholic Primary School
Skennars Head · Catholic primary · K-6
446 students · ICSEA 1102 · 2.9 km away
Ballina Public School
Ballina · Government primary · K-6
254 students · ICSEA 869 · 3.0 km away
Richmond Christian College
Ballina · Independent combined · K-12
327 students · ICSEA 1069 · 4.0 km away
Emmanuel Anglican College
Ballina · Independent combined · K-12
878 students · ICSEA 1113 · 5.5 km away
Lennox Head Public School
Lennox Head · Government primary · K-6
424 students · ICSEA 1064 · 6.3 km away
Similar schools
Government combined schools in NSW with a comparable ICSEA.
Coolah Central School
Coolah · Government combined · K-12
148 students · ICSEA 896
Barellan Central School
Barellan · Government combined · K-12
54 students · ICSEA 894
Dunedoo Central School
Dunedoo · Government combined · K-12
152 students · ICSEA 893
Uralla Central School
Uralla · Government combined · K-12
264 students · ICSEA 901
Bulahdelah Central School
Bulahdelah · Government combined · K-12
289 students · ICSEA 902
Tooleybuc Central School
Tooleybuc · Government combined · K-12
118 students · ICSEA 902
Frequently asked questions
Is Southern Cross School of Distance Education a public or private school?
Southern Cross School of Distance Education is a public (government) school run by the New South Wales education department.
What year levels does Southern Cross School of Distance Education offer?
Southern Cross School of Distance Education offers K to 12. It is classified by ACARA as a combined school.
How many students attend Southern Cross School of Distance Education?
In 2025, Southern Cross School of Distance Education had 79 enrolled students (43 girls, 36 boys), a change of -85% over five years.
What is the ICSEA of Southern Cross School of Distance Education?
Southern Cross School of Distance Education has an ICSEA (Index of Community Socio-Educational Advantage) of 896. The national average is 1000, so this indicates a community facing significant socio-educational disadvantage. ICSEA reflects the school community, not teaching quality.
What is the student-to-teacher ratio at Southern Cross School of Distance Education?
Southern Cross School of Distance Education has about 1.5 students per full-time-equivalent teacher, based on 2025 ACARA staffing data.
How big is the Year 7 cohort at Southern Cross School of Distance Education?
In 2025, Southern Cross School of Distance Education had 8 students in Year 7 and 22 in Year 12.
Is Southern Cross School of Distance Education co-ed?
Yes. Southern Cross School of Distance Education is a co-educational school enrolling both girls and boys.
What other schools are near Southern Cross School of Distance Education?
There are 10 other schools within 15 km of Southern Cross School of Distance Education 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 Southern Cross School of Distance Education?
The closest Success Tutoring centre is Success Tutoring Mount Gravatt East, about 154 km from the school. Success Tutoring offers a free academic assessment to identify your child's strengths and learning gaps before any sessions begin.