Redlands vs Sydney Grammar School
🇦🇺 Sydney · Side-by-side comparison on verifiable public data.
Neither Redlands nor Sydney Grammar School sits in a market with a public inspectorate, so both are assessed on verifiable accreditation, curriculum authorisation, and published data rather than an official quality rating. On cost, Redlands has the noticeably lower entry fee — a material difference for budget-conscious families. See the table below for the figures, and verify against each school's own published fees.
Key Facts
| Redlands | Sydney Grammar School | |
|---|---|---|
| Curriculum | IB / National | National |
| Ages | 3–18 | 4–18 |
| Languages of instruction | English | English |
| Annual fees | AUD 28,800–47,100/year (2026, domestic); IB elective +AUD 2,950/year | AUD 52,410/year (College Street, Years 7–13, 2026) |
| Enrollment | — | 1,800 |
| Boarding | Day only | Day only |
| Accreditations | NESA, CRICOS, IB World School, Round Square | NESA, AHISA, HMC |
Strengths
- ✓Genuine dual senior pathway — students can choose the full IB Diploma or the HSC, a real choice rather than a token offering
- ✓Longest continuous IB provider in NSW (since 1988), signalling depth of institutional IB expertise
- ✓Co-educational K–12 continuity on a single Lower North Shore campus from Preschool to Year 12
- ✓Strong school-reported senior outcomes (top IB ATAR 99.95; 247 top-band results in 2025)
- ✓Distinctive experiential program — Round Square membership, the 9-week Year 9 Moonbah residential, and Year 10 Arnhem Land immersion
- ✓Elite, publicly-verified HSC performance (3rd in NSW overall 2025; highest-placed independent school; 72% of cohort ATAR 95+)
- ✓Deep classical/academic curriculum including Latin, Classical Greek, German, French — multiple 'First in Course' state placements in 2025
- ✓Long heritage and prestige (founded 1854; alumni include three Australian Prime Ministers)
- ✓Three-campus K–12 continuity within Sydney (Edgecliff + St Ives prep feeding College Street senior)
- ✓Strong co-curricular breadth: music (scholarships), debating, drama, cadets, AAGPS sport (founding member)
Trade-offs
- !Day school only — no boarding, so families relocating without a resident parent cannot easily place a child here
- !High fees (≈AUD 47,100/yr senior years) plus extras; the IB pathway carries a further AUD 2,950/yr surcharge
- !Total enrolment is not published on the school site, limiting transparency on school size
- !Publishes HSC and IB results combined and discloses no standalone IB Diploma average points score
- !IB is confined to the Diploma (Years 11–12) — no PYP or MYP, so the IB experience doesn't run through the junior/middle years
- !Not registered for international students — excludes visa-dependent expat families entirely (Australian/NZ citizens and PRs only)
- !Boys-only — no option for families with daughters
- !Academically selective entry (Entrance Assessment in English/Maths + interview) — admission not guaranteed
- !No IB and no Cambridge pathway — HSC-only, less portable for globally-mobile families
- !Day-only (no boarding) and high fees (AUD 52,410/yr at College Street, 2026)
Best Fit For
- • Internationally-mobile families wanting a globally portable IB Diploma without leaving the mainstream Sydney system
- • Families who value being able to switch between IB and HSC depending on the child
- • Parents seeking co-ed K–12 continuity on one campus on Sydney's Lower North Shore
- • Students drawn to experiential and global-citizenship programs (Round Square, residential immersions)
- • Academically high-achieving boys aiming for top ATAR/university outcomes
- • Sydney-resident families (citizens/PRs) wanting an elite HSC pathway
- • Families valuing a classical-languages, traditional academic ethos
- • Households seeking K–12 continuity within one institution
University Placement
School-reported · not independently verified
School-reported, unverified: Class of 2025 top IB ATAR 99.95 and top HSC ATAR 99.40; 247 HSC/IB top-band results and 22 students at ATAR 98+ across 158 Year 12 candidates. The school does not publish a standalone IB Diploma average points score.
School-reported (SMH league table), 2025 HSC: ranked 3rd overall for success rate (highest-placed independent school), 2nd for Top Achievers. Of 199 students: 72.4% ATAR 95+, 84.9% 90+; 175 Distinguished Achievers listings, 7 First-in-Course. Unverified against raw NESA/UAC data.
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Frequently Asked Questions
Should I choose Redlands or Sydney Grammar School?
Redlands is best for: Internationally-mobile families wanting a globally portable IB Diploma without leaving the mainstream Sydney system. Sydney Grammar School is best for: Academically high-achieving boys aiming for top ATAR/university outcomes. The right choice depends on target curriculum, budget, and family priorities — the two are not linearly comparable.
How do fees compare between Redlands and Sydney Grammar School?
Redlands: AUD 28,800–47,100/year (2026, domestic); IB elective +AUD 2,950/year. Sydney Grammar School: AUD 52,410/year (College Street, Years 7–13, 2026). Verify against each school's own published fees; some figures are sourced from third-party aggregators.
What curricula do Redlands and Sydney Grammar School offer?
Redlands: IB, National. Sydney Grammar School: National.
Do Redlands or Sydney Grammar School offer boarding?
Redlands: day school only. Sydney Grammar School: day school only.
Questions parents ask
This comparison is BrightKey's independent assessment using verifiable public data only. University-placement figures are school-reported and not independently verified. BrightKey takes no payments from schools. Our method →