Orange school tops the list for region's most expensive school fees

And the cost of sending your child to that school is more than double that of the NSW median, according to a report from Edstart.

Edstart's annual School Fees Report showed the 2023 NSW median school fee for Year 12 sat at $11,270.

The regional NSW median fee is lower at $9061, although it did see an increase of 4.59 per cent from 2022.

A review of school fess across the region has revealed Orange's Kinross Wolaroi School tops the list with the cost of Year 12 coming in at $26,703.

The school, which caters from K-12, is a merger between single-sex schools Wolaroi College and Presbyterian Ladies College Orange in 1975 and has a presence stretching back over 130 years in the region.

Despite the comparatively high fees, it's still well short of the top private school in NSW however with Sydney's Kambala School setting parents back $46,300 to enrol their daughter.

Other schools in the state charging over $40,000 for tuition include SCEGGS Darlinghurst, Sydney Grammar School, The Scots College, The King's School, Ascham and PLC.

Kinross Wolaroi told the CWD that the 2023 fees reflected the school's "continued commitment to be the leading education provider in regional Australia" and a response to "inflation and the extraordinary cost pressures the School will face in 2023."

They also pointed to strong academic results and extensive co-curricular activities and said the school provided "excellent value" compared to metropolitan independent schools.

Bathurst schools round out the top three with Scots All Saints College costing $18,573 and Saint Stanislaus College $10,040 for Year 12 tuition.

To the north, Dubbo Christian School comes in at $8300, compared to $7275 for Macquarie Anglican Grammar.

Overall the Central West remains comparatively affordable. South Australia recorded the lowest median fees nationally with $8985, a figure higher than most schools in the region.

High schools under the $5000 mark include Orange's James Sheahan Catholic High School ($3552), Bathurst's Mackillop College ($4022), St John's College Dubbo ($4353), St Matthew's Catholic School in Mudgee ($3711), Forbes-based Red Bend College ($4685), the Lithgow De Salle Academy ($3437) and Cowra's St Raphael's Catholic School ($2748).

Dubbo

Orange

Bathurst

Cowra

Forbes

Lithgow

Mudgee