Sydney Grammar vs Knox: Fees, Entry and Which School Suits Your Son

Sydney Grammar vs Knox comes down to how your son would get in, where you live and whether he needs to board. Sydney Grammar School suits academically curious boys who will sit a selective Entrance Assessment and can travel to a day school in central Sydney; Knox Grammar School suits families on or near the Upper North Shore who can apply early, want a broad all-round programme, or need boarding. On 2026 fees, Sydney Grammar charges $52,410 a year for Years 7–12, and Knox charges $42,640 for Years 7–10 and $45,120 for Years 11–12, plus an $840 Technology Levy (AUD, domestic rates, official schedules checked 6 November 2026). Neither school had published a 2027 fee schedule on its fees page when we checked.

If you searched for Knox Grammar vs Sydney Grammar, or are asking yourself whether to choose Sydney Grammar or Knox, you can find each school’s fee in seconds on its own website. The harder question is which school fits your child. This page does not rank them. It sets out, from the official pages of both schools, what differs on cost, entry, learning, travel, boarding and scholarships, so you can test each difference against your own family. It also includes NIJIN GLOBAL ACADEMY (NGA), a very different online option, so you can see what a third path would and would not give you. For the full detail on one school, see our Sydney Grammar School fees page and our Knox Grammar School fees page.

The short answer: which school suits which family

• Sydney Grammar may suit you if your son enjoys ideas and languages and is likely to do well in an English and Mathematics assessment. The school describes itself as academically selective, and every Form I (Year 7) boy studies Latin and French.
• Sydney Grammar may suit you if you have not applied years ahead. The school says the time of applying has no bearing on selection, so what matters is meeting the registration deadline for the assessment round.
• Sydney Grammar may suit you if you want a secular school in the middle of the city that your son can reach by public transport from anywhere in Sydney.
• Knox may suit you if you live on the Upper North Shore or on one of its charter bus routes, and want a large school with Saturday sport, Cadets, outdoor education and music.
• Knox may suit you if your son needs to board, or if your family is overseas. Knox has places for about 210 boarders from Year 7 to Year 12 and is registered to enrol overseas students as boarders. Sydney Grammar is a day school and is not registered to enrol international students.
• Knox may suit you if you can plan early. Knox says many year groups are fully enrolled for several years ahead and recommends applying as soon as possible after birth.
• Neither may suit you if you are looking for a girls’ or co-educational secondary school, or for the IB Diploma. Both are boys’ schools from Year 7 to Year 12, and both prepare students for the NSW Higher School Certificate (HSC).

Sydney Grammar vs Knox vs NGA at a glance (official data)

Every school figure below comes from the official pages listed under the table, checked on 6 November 2026. All amounts are in Australian dollars and use each school’s 2026 schedule. Where a school does not publish an item, we say so instead of estimating.

Sources (all checked 6 November 2026): Sydney Grammar fees, entrance, enrolment, scholarships; Knox Fee Schedule 2026 (PDF), How to Enrol, Enrolment Policy 2026 (PDF), Guide to Scholarships for 2028 (PDF).

Sydney Grammar and Knox fees and total cost

Here is the Sydney Grammar Knox fees comparison, year by year. The figures come from Sydney Grammar’s College Street and St Ives fee pages, both headed Schedule of Fees 2026 and issued on 25 November 2025, and from the Knox Fee Schedule 2026, checked on 6 November 2026. The gap column is our own subtraction.

The two schools also bill differently, so the tuition gap is not the whole story. Sydney Grammar charges one flat rate across all six senior years, paid in three instalments of $17,470. Knox bills most years in four instalments (three in Year 12) and itemises more charges: a compulsory Technology Levy ($330 in K–3, $660 in Years 4–6, $840 in Years 7–12), Outdoor Education at $1,764 a year in Years 7–8 and in Year 10 if not in Cadets, and Cadets at $2,100 in Years 9–11 and $1,400 in Year 12, as applicable.

Total cost at 2026 prices

The totals below use only official 2026 figures and assume no fee rises, no scholarship and no extras beyond what is shown.

On those assumptions, Year 7 to Year 12 at Knox costs $52,105 less than at Sydney Grammar. That gap narrows if your son takes Knox’s activity programmes. A boy doing Outdoor Education in Years 7–8 and Cadets from Year 9 to Year 12 adds 2 × $1,764 + 3 × $2,100 + $1,400 = $11,228, which brings Knox to $282,618 and the gap to $40,877.

It is also not a complete comparison, because the two schools publish different levels of detail on extras. Knox’s overseas student schedule gives indicative costs of about $2,100 for an initial full uniform and about $900 a year for textbooks, and music lessons, camps and excursions are charged on top. On Sydney Grammar, uniform, textbook, music, camp and tour costs: Not published on the official site. Both schools also ask for a voluntary building fund donation: $1,050 per family per year at Knox; at Sydney Grammar, a suggested amount appears on each statement, but the amount is not published on the official site. For a list of what to ask each school, see our guide to online vs in-person international school costs.

Payment terms and discounts

Neither school publishes a sibling discount on the fee pages we checked. Knox offers a Fees in Advance Program for domestic families, with a discount of 3% for each year paid ahead (3% on next year’s fees, 6% on the year after, and so on); the closing date on the current program document is Friday 6 November 2026, so ask the school about the next round. It also offers payment plans through Edstart. Sydney Grammar does not publish an early-payment discount on its fees page, and overdue accounts attract a $100 monthly administration charge; Knox applies a $50 charge after a second reminder.

How hard is it to get in, and when must you apply?

This is the sharpest difference between the two schools, and it changes what you should do first. At Sydney Grammar the key is an assessment. At Knox the key is an early application.

Sydney Grammar: an assessment, and timing does not matter

The entrance page says Sydney Grammar is an academic selective school. Boys entering College Street from outside its prep schools sit an Entrance Assessment in English and Mathematics in the year before entry. Those who perform well are invited to an Activities Day and possibly an interview, and offers follow. The school strongly discourages coaching and says the time of applying has no bearing on selection.

For Form I (Year 7) in 2028, applications close on Friday 5 March 2027; the assessment date was still to be published when we checked. For Forms II to V (Years 8–11), boys sit an assessment in August of the year before entry, then an interview that considers curiosity, breadth of interests and willingness to join co-curricular life. Places are limited, candidates may be wait-listed, and the test must be sat in person at College Street, with no remote testing. Boys in Sixth Class at St Ives and Edgecliff progress to Form I unless thought unlikely to flourish there, and the school’s history page says it takes 120 boys a year from the two prep schools. How many outside applicants sit the test, and how many get an offer: Not published on the official site.

Knox: apply early, then confirm suitability

Knox’s enrolment FAQs say demand is very high, recommend applying as soon as possible after birth, and say that paying the application and enrolment fees is the only way to secure a confirmed position. The How to Enrol page says many year groups are fully enrolled for several years. It also says campus tours are currently by invitation for families with a child starting in the next two years, although the FAQ page still describes regular bookable tours, so check with the Enrolments team.

The steps are a $400 application with two written family references, a $2,750 enrolment fee within 30 days of an offer, then a $2,400 entrance fee about two years before starting. The Enrolment Policy 2026 adds two details worth reading. Enrolment is conditional on the Headmaster being satisfied about a boy’s suitability, by placement test, interview, school reports or otherwise, depending on the level of entry. And the school reserves the right to offer a place to any boy irrespective of the date of application, with separate procedures for sons of Old Boys, siblings, country boarders and scholarship winners. A typical waiting time for a given year: Not published on the official site.

What this means for your family

If your son is young and Knox is on your list, look at its application early, keeping in mind that the $400 fee is non-refundable; Sydney Grammar’s Year 7 deadline can wait until nearer the time. If he is in Year 5 or Year 6 and you have not yet applied anywhere, Sydney Grammar’s process does not depend on how early you applied, so the assessment round remains open to him if you meet the deadline. Knox may still have vacancies in some year groups, but you would need to ask directly.

Curriculum and learning style: same HSC, different emphasis

Both schools lead to the NSW HSC and an ATAR for Australian university entry. Neither lists the IB Diploma on the pages we checked. The difference lies in how each builds up to the HSC.

Sydney Grammar’s academic page describes a curriculum organised around a liberal education. Every Form I boy takes Latin and French alongside English, Mathematics, Science, History, Geography, Art, Applied Arts, Music and PDHPE. Later electives include Classical Greek, German, Chinese, Italian and Sanskrit. In the HSC years, boys must take at least two humanities subjects and may not simply take English, Mathematics and Science. Many classes are streamed, and the school prefers extension work to acceleration.

Knox’s Senior School curriculum page describes a broad choice, with more than 45 subjects in Years 11–12 so that boys can keep their options open. Its electives include Agriculture, Engineering Studies, iSTEM, Commerce, Photography and Digital Media, and Japanese, German, French and Chinese. Students must also take Religion and Ethics through Years 7–10. Every Senior School boy receives a school laptop, and Knox organises the school into academies for Years 7–8, 9–10 and 11–12.

Published HSC results (Class of 2025)

Sources: Sydney Grammar academic results and Knox 2025 HSC Results report, checked 6 November 2026. These figures should not be read as a measure of which school teaches better. Sydney Grammar selects boys by assessment and is the smaller school, while Knox has more than 2,000 boys in its Senior School and does not describe the same kind of academic selection. Knox’s summary also gives counts without a cohort total, so the percentages cannot be set side by side. A better question is how your son is likely to learn among either group of boys.

Location and daily travel

For many Sydney families, this decides the matter before anything else. The two senior campuses are in different parts of the city and work differently.

Sydney Grammar is at College Street, Darlinghurst, opposite Hyde Park. Its location and transport page says boys travel from all over Sydney. Central, Town Hall and Museum stations are within easy walking distance, government buses stop nearby, and some boys come by ferry to Circular Quay. Sport is off site: buses leave College Street after 3pm for training at places such as Weigall at Rushcutters Bay and the Gladesville boatshed. The prep schools are at St Ives on the North Shore and in Paddington in the eastern suburbs.

Knox is on the Upper North Shore at Wahroonga. The Senior School is a short walk from Warrawee Station, and Knox Prep is a short walk from Wahroonga Station. Its charter bus service runs daily to areas including the Northern Beaches, Mosman, Lane Cove, Castle Hill and Dural. Senior School lessons run from 8.25am to 3.15pm, with music, sport, Cadets and clubs often before and after.

Both schools expect sport to be taken seriously, with Saturday fixtures during term. Neither publishes door-to-door travel times, so we do not quote any. Try the actual trip at the actual time of day, including the return from a training venue, before you decide. Both schools follow the NSW year: in 2027, Term 1 starts on Friday 29 January at both schools (Sydney Grammar’s 2027 calendar is marked draft; Knox’s is on its term dates page).

Boarding: only one of the two offers it

This is the simplest choice on the page. Sydney Grammar describes itself as a day school for boys, so a family outside commuting range would need to arrange to live in Sydney. Knox offers boarding, and its boarding FAQs describe places for approximately 210 boys, about two-thirds from rural Australia and one-third from overseas.

Knox’s boarding fee is $41,820 a year on top of tuition (including $960 GST), and covers meals and laundry during term. With tuition and the Technology Levy, a domestic boarder pays $85,300 a year in Years 7–10 and $87,780 in Years 11–12 at 2026 rates. Boys in Years 7–10 share a double room with an ensuite, Year 11 boys have a single or double room with a shared bathroom, and Year 12 boys have a single room with an ensuite. On weekday evenings, boarders have supervised study sessions in their rooms. Entry to boarding is offered in Years 7–11, and the school describes these as selective placements for regional and overseas students.

Who can apply: overseas families, residency and girls

If your family is abroad or on a temporary visa, check this before reading anything else. Sydney Grammar states that it is not registered to enrol international students, and accepts applications only from Australian and New Zealand citizens and holders of an Australian Permanent Resident visa. Its senior-school assessment must be sat in person.

Knox accepts overseas students on student visas only as boarders, from Year 7 to Year 12, at 25% higher tuition: $53,300 for Years 7–10 and $56,400 for Years 11–12. Its Overseas Student Enrolment Policy 2026 rules out day enrolment while living with parents, relatives, friends or in a homestay. It also requires an AEAS English result of 70 for Year 7, 75 for Years 8–10 and 80 for Year 11. The school notes that these levels are high and that an intensive English course may be needed first.

For daughters, neither school offers a secondary place. Knox’s Wahroonga Prep teaches girls and boys up to Year 6, and Knox describes Ravenswood School for Girls as its sister school. Sydney Grammar is for boys at all campuses. Families who need one school for a son and a daughter may wish to look at co-educational schools; our international schools in Sydney guide and our pages on Cranbrook School and International Grammar School are a place to start.

Scholarships and fee assistance

Both schools help some families with fees, but the published terms differ, and the dates for 2028 entry fall within a few weeks of each other. Knox says it does not offer remote scholarship testing; Sydney Grammar does not describe remote testing on its scholarships page.

As an illustration only, at 2026 prices a 20% Sydney Grammar scholarship would be worth $10,482 a year, or $62,892 over six years. A 50% Knox Year 7 award would be worth $130,400 of the $260,800 tuition over six years. Fees for 2028 are not yet published, so treat these as a sense of scale. Because the dates differ, a boy could in principle sit both. Sources: Sydney Grammar scholarships and fee-assisted places; Knox scholarships and Guide to Scholarships for 2028, checked 6 November 2026.

A third option: NIJIN GLOBAL ACADEMY

Sydney Grammar and Knox are both established, in-person boys’ schools. Some families reach this point and find that neither fits: the assessment is not right for their child, the year group is full, the budget is stretched, or a move is likely. NIJIN GLOBAL ACADEMY (NGA) is one different path to look at, along with others in our online school options in Australia guide.

NGA is an online international school for ages 6–18 focused on Asia and Oceania, opening in September 2027 (planned), with free trial classes monthly from September 2026 and pre-opening trial classes in April–May 2027. Its first cohort is 100 students. It is operated by NIJIN Inc. in Japan, whose alternative school NIJIN Academy has more than 1,000 students. It uses small-group live dialogue, with classes of about 8. Subjects are learned in English with a bilingual (English–Japanese) mentor, English levels follow the CEFR, and students join social co-creation projects with companies and governments and take part in international exchange. An optional Cambridge IGCSE / A-Level pathway is listed on the curriculum and timetable page, and our explainer on how an online international school works shows what a day looks like.

NGA has no academic entrance exam and no English requirement, and it can run alongside a local school or as the main school, travelling with the family if they relocate. Tuition is not yet published; NGA describes it as far more affordable than a typical international school, with no enrolment, facility or uniform fees, materials included and sibling discounts. The timetable is built for Asia–Oceania daytime, and Sydney is one or two hours ahead of Japan, so live classes may fit an Australian day well, but check the timetable against local time, especially during daylight saving.

Be clear about the trade-offs. NGA is not yet open, is not yet accredited, and has no graduates or track record. It does not award the HSC or lead to an ATAR in the way both Sydney schools do, and it has no boarding, Saturday sport, Cadets or campus life. If those are what you want, Sydney Grammar and Knox offer them and NGA does not. To weigh online and campus schools more widely, see online international schools compared and why some families choose an online international school.

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FAQ

Which is better, Sydney Grammar or Knox?

We do not rank them, because the answer depends on the boy and the family. Sydney Grammar may suit a boy who will do well in a selective assessment and enjoy a liberal, language-rich curriculum at a city day school. Knox may suit a family on the Upper North Shore who can apply early, want a broad programme with many subject choices, or need boarding.

How do Sydney Grammar and Knox fees compare?

For 2026, Sydney Grammar charges $52,410 a year for Years 7–12. Knox charges $42,640 for Years 7–10 and $45,120 for Years 11–12, plus an $840 Technology Levy. At 2026 prices, with entry fees, Year 7 to Year 12 comes to $323,495 at Sydney Grammar and $271,390 at Knox, before extras (official schedules, checked 6 November 2026; 2027 schedules not yet published).

Is it harder to get into Sydney Grammar or Knox?

The two are hard in different ways, and neither publishes acceptance rates. Sydney Grammar selects by an English and Mathematics assessment, then an Activities Day or interview, and the date of application does not affect selection. At Knox the main hurdle is demand: the school says many year groups are full for several years and recommends applying soon after birth.

Does Sydney Grammar or Knox have boarding?

Only Knox. It has places for about 210 boys in Years 7–12, at $41,820 a year on top of tuition for 2026. Sydney Grammar is a day school.

Do Sydney Grammar and Knox offer the IB?

Neither lists the IB Diploma on the official pages we checked. Both prepare students for the NSW HSC.

Can international students apply to Sydney Grammar or Knox?

Sydney Grammar is not registered to enrol international students. Knox enrols overseas students in Years 7–12 as boarders only, at 25% higher tuition and with an AEAS English result of 70 to 80 depending on entry year.

What if neither school fits?

Our guide to international schools in Sydney covers other campus options. NIJIN GLOBAL ACADEMY is a very different, online option for ages 6–18 with no academic entrance exam and no English requirement; it opens in September 2027 (planned) and is not yet accredited.

Choosing calmly, with the whole picture

Sydney Grammar and Knox are both long-established schools that many families value, and they ask different things of you. Start with what cannot change: whether your son needs to board, your residency, and where you live. Then check his age against each school’s entry route and deadlines, add up the years you expect him to stay, and try the journey. Whichever school you choose, the right one is the place where your child will be known, stretched and happy.

Tuition and admissions details were checked on the official websites on 6 November 2026. Schools revise fees every year — always confirm on the official site before applying.

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