The Essington School
Updated Oct 2026 · ACARA 2025Rapid Creek, Northern Territory 0810 · Darwin LGA
About The Essington School
The Essington School is an independent combined (K–12) school located in Rapid Creek, Northern Territory (0810), within the Darwin local government area. It caters for students from T to 12 and in 2025 enrolled 782 students (376 girls and 406 boys). The school is affiliated with Association of Independent Schools of the NT.
The Essington School has an ICSEA value of 1128, indicating very high socio-educational advantage. That places it in the 91st percentile of Australian schools. 54% of students come from the top socio-educational quarter and 3% from the bottom quarter.
The school employs 65 teachers (64.1 full-time equivalent) and 48 non-teaching staff, giving a student-to-teacher ratio of about 12.2 to 1. Enrolments have fallen by 11% over the past five years.
On the Success Index, The Essington School scores 71.1 out of 100, placing it in the top 25% of combined schools nationally and 2nd of 40 combined schools in NT (2nd of 4 in the Darwin area).
Success Index breakdown
Each component is a percentile against schools of the same type across Australia.
- Socio-educational advantage (ICSEA) (50%)ICSEA 1128
- Students in the top advantage quarter (15%)54% of students
- Teacher resourcing (students per teacher) (15%)12.2 students per teacher
- Enrolment growth vs local area (5 years) (10%)-11% enrolments since 2020 (area median +17%)
- ICSEA trend (5 years) (10%)+41 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 The Essington School's 782 students are spread across year levels in 2025.
Enrolment trend
How enrolments at The Essington School have changed over the past decade.
Free academic assessment
Is your child on track at The Essington School?
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Schools near The Essington School
Closest schools by straight-line distance, with their Success Index.
Nightcliff High School
Nightcliff · Government high school · 7-9
409 students · ICSEA 986 · 511 m away
Nightcliff Primary School
Nightcliff · Government primary · T-6
478 students · ICSEA 1063 · 669 m away
St Paul's Catholic Primary School
Rapid Creek · Catholic primary · T-6
221 students · ICSEA 1077 · 734 m away
Millner Primary School
Millner · Government primary · T-6
171 students · ICSEA 911 · 1.2 km away
Nemarluk School
Alawa · Government special · T-6
170 students · ICSEA 929 · 2.1 km away
Jingili Primary School
Jingili · Government primary · T-6
235 students · ICSEA 997 · 2.1 km away
Alawa Primary School
Alawa · Government primary · T-6
259 students · ICSEA 1011 · 2.3 km away
Casuarina Senior College
Moil · Government high school · 10-12
690 students · ICSEA 949 · 2.5 km away
Nakara Primary School
Nakara · Government primary · T-6
409 students · ICSEA 1051 · 2.6 km away
Moil Primary School
Moil · Government primary · T-6
167 students · ICSEA 970 · 2.8 km away
Similar schools
Independent combined schools in NT with a comparable ICSEA.
Alice Springs Steiner School
Ross · Independent combined · T-9
162 students · ICSEA 1085
Haileybury Rendall School
Berrimah · Independent combined · T-12
970 students · ICSEA 1082
Nhulunbuy Christian College
Nhulunbuy · Independent combined · T-10
138 students · ICSEA 1056
Milkwood Steiner School
Berrimah · Independent combined · T-8
118 students · ICSEA 1053
Good Shepherd Lutheran College
Howard Springs · Independent combined · T-12
1,117 students · ICSEA 1025
Palmerston Christian College
Marlow Lagoon · Independent combined · T-10
365 students · ICSEA 1008
Frequently asked questions
Is The Essington School a public or private school?
The Essington School is a Independent school, which makes it a non-government (private) school affiliated with Association of Independent Schools of the NT.
What year levels does The Essington School offer?
The Essington School offers T to 12. It is classified by ACARA as a combined school.
How many students attend The Essington School?
In 2025, The Essington School had 782 enrolled students (376 girls, 406 boys), a change of -11% over five years.
What is the ICSEA of The Essington School?
The Essington School has an ICSEA (Index of Community Socio-Educational Advantage) of 1128. The national average is 1000, so this indicates very high socio-educational advantage. ICSEA reflects the school community, not teaching quality.
How does The Essington School rank in NT?
The Essington School ranks 2nd of 40 combined schools in Northern Territory on the Success Index (71.1/100), and 242nd of 1,259 nationally.
What is the student-to-teacher ratio at The Essington School?
The Essington School has about 12.2 students per full-time-equivalent teacher, based on 2025 ACARA staffing data.
How big is the Year 7 cohort at The Essington School?
In 2025, The Essington School had 90 students in Year 7 and 51 in Year 12.
Is The Essington School co-ed?
Yes. The Essington School is a co-educational school enrolling both girls and boys.
What other schools are near The Essington School?
There are 10 other schools within 15 km of The Essington School 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 The Essington School?
The closest Success Tutoring centre is Success Tutoring Windsor Gardens, about 2621 km from the school. Success Tutoring offers a free academic assessment to identify your child's strengths and learning gaps before any sessions begin.