St Mary's Catholic College
Updated Oct 2026 · ACARA 2025Gateshead, New South Wales 2290 · Lake Macquarie LGA
About St Mary's Catholic College
St Mary's Catholic College is a catholic high school located in Gateshead, New South Wales (2290), within the Lake Macquarie local government area. It caters for students from 7 to 12 and in 2025 enrolled 989 students (497 girls and 492 boys). The school is affiliated with Catholic Schools NSW.
St Mary's Catholic College has an ICSEA value of 1062, indicating above-average socio-educational advantage. That places it in the 73rd percentile of Australian schools. 29% of students come from the top socio-educational quarter and 13% from the bottom quarter.
The school employs 92 teachers (82.6 full-time equivalent) and 35 non-teaching staff, giving a student-to-teacher ratio of about 12.0 to 1. Enrolments have grown by 15% over the past five years.
On the Success Index, St Mary's Catholic College scores 73.0 out of 100, placing it in the top 25% of secondary schools nationally and 75th of 539 secondary schools in NSW (1st of 13 in the Lake Macquarie area).
Success Index breakdown
Each component is a percentile against schools of the same type across Australia.
- Socio-educational advantage (ICSEA) (50%)ICSEA 1062
- Students in the top advantage quarter (15%)29% of students
- Teacher resourcing (students per teacher) (15%)12.0 students per teacher
- Enrolment growth vs local area (5 years) (10%)+15% enrolments since 2020 (area median +0%)
- ICSEA trend (5 years) (10%)+7 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 St Mary's Catholic College's 989 students are spread across year levels in 2025.
Enrolment trend
How enrolments at St Mary's Catholic College have changed over the past decade.
Free academic assessment
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Schools near St Mary's Catholic College
Closest schools by straight-line distance, with their Success Index.
St Paul's Primary School
Gateshead · Catholic primary · K-6
294 students · ICSEA 1023 · 145 m away
Wiripaang Public School
Gateshead · Government primary · K-6
182 students · ICSEA 853 · 424 m away
Hunter Sports High School
Gateshead · Government high school · 7-12
941 students · ICSEA 955 · 697 m away
Lakeside School
Gateshead · Government special · U
58 students · ICSEA 910 · 1.1 km away
Charlestown South Public School
Charlestown · Government primary · K-6
235 students · ICSEA 1075 · 1.5 km away
Charlestown East Public School
Charlestown · Government primary · K-6
319 students · ICSEA 1036 · 1.5 km away
St Pius X Primary School
Windale · Catholic primary · K-6
54 students · ICSEA 847 · 1.6 km away
Charlestown Public School
Charlestown · Government primary · K-6
234 students · ICSEA 1037 · 1.7 km away
St Joseph's Primary School
Charlestown · Catholic primary · K-6
361 students · ICSEA 1102 · 1.8 km away
Windale Public School
Windale · Government primary · P-6
252 students · ICSEA 793 · 1.9 km away
Similar schools
Catholic secondary schools in NSW with a comparable ICSEA.
Mount St Joseph Milperra
Milperra · Catholic high school · 7-12
891 students · ICSEA 1060
St Andrews College
Marayong · Catholic high school · 7-12
1,327 students · ICSEA 1059
De La Salle College, Revesby Heights
Revesby Heights · Catholic high school · 7-12
650 students · ICSEA 1065
Holy Cross College
Ryde · Catholic high school · 7-12
786 students · ICSEA 1065
St John's College
Lismore · Catholic high school · 7-12
774 students · ICSEA 1059
MacKillop College Port Macquarie
Port Macquarie · Catholic high school · 7-12
1,107 students · ICSEA 1068
Frequently asked questions
Is St Mary's Catholic College a public or private school?
St Mary's Catholic College is a Catholic school, which makes it a non-government (private) school affiliated with Catholic Schools NSW.
What year levels does St Mary's Catholic College offer?
St Mary's Catholic College offers 7 to 12. It is classified by ACARA as a secondary school.
How many students attend St Mary's Catholic College?
In 2025, St Mary's Catholic College had 989 enrolled students (497 girls, 492 boys), a change of 15% over five years.
What is the ICSEA of St Mary's Catholic College?
St Mary's Catholic College has an ICSEA (Index of Community Socio-Educational Advantage) of 1062. The national average is 1000, so this indicates above-average socio-educational advantage. ICSEA reflects the school community, not teaching quality.
How does St Mary's Catholic College rank in NSW?
St Mary's Catholic College ranks 75th of 539 secondary schools in New South Wales on the Success Index (73.0/100), and 211th of 1,472 nationally.
What is the student-to-teacher ratio at St Mary's Catholic College?
St Mary's Catholic College has about 12.0 students per full-time-equivalent teacher, based on 2025 ACARA staffing data.
How big is the Year 7 cohort at St Mary's Catholic College?
In 2025, St Mary's Catholic College had 206 students in Year 7 and 125 in Year 12.
Is St Mary's Catholic College co-ed?
Yes. St Mary's Catholic College is a co-educational school enrolling both girls and boys.
What other schools are near St Mary's Catholic College?
There are 10 other schools within 15 km of St Mary's Catholic College 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 St Mary's Catholic College?
The closest Success Tutoring centre is Success Tutoring Belmont, about 5.7 km from the school. Success Tutoring offers a free academic assessment to identify your child's strengths and learning gaps before any sessions begin.