Smith's Hill High School

What Smith's Hill High School does

Smith's Hill High School is a fully academically selective, co-educational public high school located at 35–37 Gipps Street in central Wollongong, New South Wales, Australia. It is operated and funded by the NSW Department of Education, with David Deitz serving as Principal. The school delivers the standard NSW curriculum targeted at high-achieving, academically gifted students, supported by tailored programs including the Inspire high-potential and gifted education initiative and the bespoke RIOT (Resilience in Our Teens) wellbeing program. Enrichment is offered through music ensembles, debating, drama, sports, academic competitions (Tournament of Minds, Da Vinci Decathlon, Science Olympiads), and student-led clubs.

Enrolment is structurally capped at 120 students per cohort in Years 7–10, with up to 20 additional vacancies offered for Year 11 entry and no Year 12 intake. Applicants are selected via the centralised NSW Department of Education Selective Education Team process based on academic merit, with students expected to rank at or near the top of their current cohort and in the top 12% against state/national age benchmarks. A non-refundable $130 eligibility-testing fee applies to Years 8–11 applicants; standard education is free for Australian Citizens, Permanent Residents, and certain Temporary Resident Visa holders.

The technology stack comprises third-party NSW Department of Education platforms — Sentral for attendance and academic reporting, School Bytes for payments and parental consent, and Flexischools for canteen online ordering — with no proprietary technology or AI components. Revenue is derived entirely from NSW Department of Education government funding; there is no disclosed commercial revenue, tuition, or investor backing. Operational partnerships include Japanese sister-school cultural exchanges with Takarazuka and Kitazono High Schools, bus-service providers (Premier Illawarra, Dion's Bus Services), Transport NSW's School Student Transport Scheme, and religious/ethics education providers (Baptist Union of NSW, Primary Ethics).

Name

Smith's Hill High School

Legal name

Smith's Hill High School

Website

https://smithshill-h.schools.nsw.gov.au

Company type

Private

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Smith's Hill High School is a fully academically selective, co-educational public high school in Wollongong, NSW, operated by the NSW Department of Education to deliver the NSW curriculum to a capped cohort of approximately 120 academically gifted students per year group.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Selective High School Education

NAICS

Elementary and Secondary Schools (6111)

SIC

Services-Educational Services (8200)

akta.pro primary industry

Public High Schools (EDAJAAAD)

akta.pro secondary industries

Accelerated Learning & Grade Advancement Programs (EDAJAGAE), Public Middle Schools (EDAJAAAC)

Keywords

• Selective high school education
• Gifted education programs
• NSW curriculum delivery
• Student wellbeing programs
• Academic enrichment activities

Headquarters

HQ city

Wollongong

HQ country

Australia

HQ region

Oceania

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Others, Infrastructure, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D

Revenue model

1. Public Education Funding: Funded by NSW Department of Education as a public selective high school. No tuition fees for Australian Citizens, Permanent Residents, and some Temporary Resident Visa holders.
2. Eligibility Test Administration Fee: Non-refundable $130 administration fee for eligibility testing for Years 8-11 applications. Also $130 fee for students re-taking eligibility test after two years on eligibility list.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

Smith's Hill High School is a fully academically selective coeducational public high school delivering the NSW curriculum to high-achieving, academically gifted students in Years 7–12, with capped enrolment of 120 students in Years 7–10 and up to 20 additional places for Year 11. The core service is selective high school education, supplemented by specialised gifted education programming (Inspire), evidence-based wellbeing initiatives (RIOT), and a diverse extra-curricular program including music ensembles, debating, drama, sports, and academic competitions. The school is tuition-free for eligible students and funded by the NSW Department of Education.

Product overview

Smith's Hill High School is a fully selective co-educational high school offering a unified educational service following the NSW curriculum. The core offering is selective high school education (Years 7-12) for academically gifted students, supported by the Inspire high potential and gifted program. Wellbeing is addressed through the RIOT resilience program, while enrichment comes via diverse extra-curricular activities and student clubs. The school uses third-party platforms (Sentral, School Bytes, Flexischools) for parent communication, payments, and canteen operations.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Selective High School Education (Years 7–12)

Segments2 records

Ideal customer profiles1 record

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration3 records

Partnerships

Eight partnerships are on record, tiered minor and core.

• Takarazuka High SchoolminorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 August 2025Japanese sister school for cultural exchange. Students from Takarazuka High School will stay with local families and participate in school activities during Term 3, Week 2-4, experiencing everyday life in Australia.
• Kitazono High SchoolminorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 August 2025Japanese sister school for cultural exchange. Students from Kitazono High School will stay with local families and participate in school activities during Term 3, Week 2-4, offering opportunity to build lasting friendships across cultures.
• Baptist Union of NSWminorOthersProvides Combined Christian SRE (Special Religious Education) at the school. Authorised curriculum scope and sequence is available on their website.
• Primary EthicsminorOthersProvides SEE (Special Education in Ethics) classes at the school, delivered on Mondays from 2:05pm for students not attending SRE.
• Premier IllawarraminorOthersProvides school bus services (S182-S188, S145, S140, S101) connecting students from Stocklands Shellharbour, Farmborough Heights, Princes Highway, Shellharbour Road, University of Wollongong, and surrounding areas.
• Dion's Bus ServicesminorOthersProvides school bus services (S392 to Bulli via Corrimal, S401 from Austinmer) for student transport.
• Transport NSWminorOthersAdministers Student Opal Card program providing free travel on public transport to and from school for eligible students under School Student Transport Scheme.
• NSW Department of EducationcoreOthersGovernment body that funds, oversees, and sets policies for the school as a public selective high school.

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves1 record

Expansion highlights4 records

Broad incumbents

• The King's School, Parramatta: One of Australia's leading independent schools with a strong gifted-cohort focus and similarly rich extra-curricular and wellbeing programs; competes for the same high-achieving Sydney families who choose Smith's Hill, but via a fee-paying private model.
• Sydney Grammar School: Elite independent boys' school drawing from the same academically top-tier cohort in Sydney; a broader incumbent that competes for the families Smith's Hill targets, though operating under a fee-paying, scholarship-funded private model rather than government selective entry.

Direct peers

• Perth Modern School: Western Australia's only fully selective public secondary school, academically gifted Years 7–12 cohort, government-funded; the clearest cross-state government-selective peer for benchmarking Smith's Hill's model and outcomes.
• Baulkham Hills High School: Another large NSW DoE selective high school with similar centralised admission, academically selective cohort, extensive extra-curricular offerings (debating, music ensembles, sport), and comparable student support infrastructure — the closest large-scale peer in western Sydney.
• North Sydney Girls High School: A fully selective NSW Department of Education girls' high school sharing the same centralised placement, NSW curriculum, enrichment/extra-curricular programming, and admissions-driven business model as Smith's Hill — the closest female-counterpart peer in the same system.
• Sydney Boys High School: Co-located in the NSW Department of Education selective schools system alongside Smith's Hill, Sydney Boys High serves Years 7–12 academically gifted boys using the same NSW selective-curriculum framework with centralised placement testing — a near-identical operating model and target cohort.
• James Ruse Agricultural High School: Consistently Australia's top-ranked school and an NSW DoE fully selective high school; directly comparable on selection mechanism, mission, and student profile, and the most performance-relevant benchmark for Smith's Hill's academic outcomes.
• Melbourne High School: Victoria's flagship government selective boys' school with analogous merit-based entry, public funding model, gifted-cohort focus, and strong extra-curricular tradition — a direct interstate peer even though it operates under a different state education department.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/smithshillhighschool
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/school/smith-s-hill-high-school

Compliance1 record

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles13 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Smith's Hill High School