The 2025 NAPLAN results have confirmed strong performance by several inner‑city Sydney schools located in or near Surry Hills, Darlinghurst and Moore Park. For families in these areas, the data provides a clear benchmark of literacy and numeracy achievement in Year 9 — with results that place local schools at the top of regional rankings.
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At the top of the local secondary‑school list, Sydney Girls High School (Surry Hills) recorded a Year 9 average score of 716.4. Sydney Boys High School (Moore Park) followed closely with 714.8. Sydney Grammar School (Darlinghurst) also featured among the highest‑scoring inner‑city schools, with a Year 9 average of 715.2. These results reflect the combined performance across the NAPLAN domains of reading, writing, spelling, grammar and numeracy.
These figures attest to the continued academic strength of these schools. SGHS and SBHS remain leading selective public schools in inner Sydney, while Sydney Grammar maintains its long‑standing reputation among independent institutions. For local residents, the 2025 NAPLAN data reinforces that these schools remain among the highest‑performing options in the inner city.
However, the picture beyond the elite schools is more complex. According to a recent update from the Education Department, some public schools across the state, including in metropolitan, regional and rural areas, have been singled out as “Schools Making a Difference” for demonstrating strong growth compared with peer schools with similar starting points.
One example is Cabramatta High School, which has sustained improvement from early secondary years through to the Higher School Certificate, signalling growth beyond just NAPLAN scores. Another is Tocumwal Public School, a small regional school included on the list for progress in literacy and numeracy.
The inclusion of such schools underscores that strong NAPLAN performance is not solely the domain of selective or independent schools. The approaches highlighted by education authorities, explicit teaching, consistent feedback, collaboration among educators, have been identified as key in lifting literacy and numeracy outcomes in diverse school communities.
For families in Surry Hills, Darlinghurst and Moore Park, the 2025 results offer reassurance about the quality of nearby schooling options. At the same time, the broader state‑wide data points to continuing efforts to support improvement across all schools, not just the top‑performers.
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As the new school year begins, these results serve as both a benchmark and a reminder: high‑performing inner‑city institutions continue to deliver strong outcomes, while there is ongoing value in supporting growth and improvement across the wider network of NSW schools.
Published 8-December-2025
