Pymble Ladies’ College Fees 2026: Total Costs, Scholarships and Entry

Pymble Ladies’ College fees for 2026 range by year level from $30,575 a year (Kindergarten to Year 2) to $45,820 a year (Years 11 and 12) for Australian day students, according to the College’s official “College Fees 2026” schedule (checked 10 November 2026). On top of tuition, every family pays a compulsory IT Levy ($420 to $850 a year depending on year group) and three one-off, non-refundable enrolment fees: a $440 Application Fee, a $2,000 Acceptance Fee and a $2,400 Entry Fee — $4,840 in total. Boarding, available from Year 7, adds $36,322 a year. All amounts are in Australian dollars, and a 2027 fee schedule was not published on the official site when we checked.

If you searched “Pymble Ladies College fees”, the headline number is only part of the answer. Parents also want to know what the tuition actually covers, what the levies and enrolment fees add up to, what a full Kindergarten-to-Year-12 education costs, how entry and scholarships work, and how Pymble compares with other girls’ schools nearby. This page answers those questions from Pymble’s own website, then sets it beside Abbotsleigh, Wenona and NIJIN GLOBAL ACADEMY (NGA) — a very different option: an online international school for ages 6–18 that opens in September 2027.

The short answer: who Pymble suits — and who it doesn’t

• Suits: families who want a large, all-girls K–12 school with everything on one campus. Pymble describes itself as “proudly for girls” and runs five schools in one: Early Years, Junior (Kindergarten–Year 6), Middle (Years 7–8), Upper (Years 9–10) and Senior (Years 11–12), on a 50-acre campus at Pymble on Sydney’s upper North Shore.
• Suits: families who prefer a non-selective school. The enrolment FAQs state that Pymble is non-selective: there is no entrance exam, and every applicant has an interview with the relevant Head of School.
• Suits: families who want the NSW HSC with some Cambridge options. Senior students complete the HSC, and as a Cambridge International School Pymble offers some IGCSE subjects (including Mathematics and Global Perspectives) in the Upper School.
• Suits: families living outside Sydney or overseas. Pymble offers full boarding from Year 7 (150 places) and is registered to accept overseas students from Kindergarten to Year 12.
• Harder fit: families who want the International Baccalaureate. The FAQs state plainly that the College does not offer the IB.
• Harder fit: families who decide late. Places are allocated by application date and the confirmed-place process starts about two years before entry, so a late application for a popular year may go onto the waitlist.
• Harder fit: families with a tight budget. A full K–12 education costs more than half a million dollars at 2026 prices, and Pymble’s academic scholarships start at Year 7 and Year 11, not in the Junior School.

What Pymble Ladies’ College is

Pymble Ladies’ College is an independent girls’ school of the Uniting Church in Australia. Its official history records that the first students arrived at the Avon Road campus on 8 February 1916 — a roll of 60 girls, 20 of them boarders. The school was known as Presbyterian Ladies’ College Pymble until 1977, when it took its present name, and it celebrated its centenary in 2016. In 2020 the College acquired Vision Valley, an outdoor education campus at Arcadia, about 45 minutes’ drive from Pymble.

The main campus is a day and boarding school for girls from Kindergarten to Year 12. From 2026 the College also runs an Early Years School for boys and girls from three months to six years of age. Maximum class sizes, according to the FAQs, are 20 in Kindergarten, 22 in Years 1–2 and 24 from Year 3 to Year 12. Total enrolment is not stated on the official pages we checked.

Pymble Ladies’ College fees 2026 by year level (official)

Everything in this section comes from the College’s fees page and the two PDFs linked from it: College Fees 2026 and College Fees for Overseas Students 2026, all checked on 10 November 2026. The schedule says fees are set annually by the College Board and that any change applies to both new and existing enrolments.

Annual tuition for day students (Australian citizens and residents)

The IT Levy is billed once, in January, and covers devices, accessories, software and technical support for the relevant years. In Kindergarten to Year 6 the iPads remain College property. Girls entering Year 7 from 2026 receive a College-managed laptop that they own after completing Year 10, while for Years 10 to 12 the levy does not include a device — families buy their own. The overseas schedule estimates a Years 11–12 laptop at “at least $1,700”. Early Years School fees are not included in the College Fees 2026 document.

Fees for overseas (student visa) students

Students on a subclass 500 student visa pay a separate schedule, billed in two instalments a year: $40,315 (Kindergarten–Year 2), $45,290 (Years 3–4), $46,930 (Years 5–6), $55,990 (Years 7–8), $56,870 (Years 9–10) and $57,260 (Years 11–12). Boarding is the same $36,322 a year. The overseas schedule also lists estimated extras: Overseas Student Health Cover (about $500 a year per family), a first-year uniform of about $1,600, textbooks and stationery of about $1,200 a year, and an HSC examination marking fee estimated at $1,350 in Year 12.

One-off enrolment fees and other charges

All three enrolment fees are non-refundable and are not credited towards tuition. The good news for budgeting is that tuition includes curriculum teaching and compulsory whole-year-group incursions, excursions and camps, including the Year 9 Residential Program. Uniform costs for domestic students and individual music lessons are not priced on the domestic schedule.

Discounts: siblings and paying in advance

Pymble publishes a sibling discount for sisters attending at the same time: $1,200 a year off tuition for the second daughter, $5,800 for the third and $19,500 for the fourth and each later daughter. Boarding sibling discounts are $9,000 (second) and $18,000 (third and later). Where several discounts could apply — scholarships, allowances or staff discounts — the total tuition discount is limited to the largest single one. Paying the full year’s tuition in advance by the due date earns a 2.5% discount: on Year 7 tuition of $44,710, that is $1,117.75. Families can also pay termly or use an Edstart payment plan. Card payments carry a surcharge (0.78% for Visa and Mastercard); BPAY is free.

What Pymble costs over the years (2026 prices)

Using only official 2026 figures for an Australian day student, with no fee rises, scholarship or sibling discount, here is the arithmetic:

• Year 7 to Year 12: 2 × $44,710 + 2 × $45,540 + 2 × $45,820 = $272,140 tuition; IT Levy 3 × $850 + 3 × $200 = $3,150; enrolment fees $4,840. Total: $280,130.
• Kindergarten to Year 12: 3 × $30,575 + 2 × $35,210 + 2 × $36,730 = $235,605 for Kindergarten–Year 6, plus $272,140 for Years 7–12 = $507,745 tuition; IT Levy 7 × $420 + $3,150 = $6,090; enrolment fees $4,840. Total: $518,675.
• Year 7 to Year 12 as a boarder: the day total of $280,130 plus 6 × $36,322 = $217,932 boarding. Total: $498,062.

The first year in Year 7 alone comes to $44,710 + $850 + $4,840 = $50,400 before ancillary charges, uniform and books. Fees normally rise each year, so the real totals will be higher. Our guide to online vs in-person international school costs puts numbers like these in a wider context.

Scholarships, bursaries and entry

How entry works

Pymble’s How to Apply page and enrolment FAQs describe a process built around timing rather than testing:

1. Apply early. Main entry points are Kindergarten, Year 3, Year 5 and Year 7 (day or boarding); other years are possible when places arise. Places are allocated by application date, so the College recommends applying as soon as you decide. For Kindergarten, a girl must turn five by 31 March of her starting year.
2. Provisional Place. If a place is available, the Enrolments Manager may offer a Provisional Place, secured with the $2,000 Acceptance Fee. If not, the application goes on the waitlist.
3. About two years before entry, the College contacts families, asks for current school reports and arranges an interview with the relevant Head of School. Waitlisted students are only invited to interview if a place becomes available after the first round.
4. Confirmed Place. Offers are made at the Principal’s discretion; the family pays the $2,400 Entry Fee to confirm. Girls entering Years 3, 5 and 7 attend an assessment morning during orientation.

There is no entrance exam. There is, however, an English requirement for some applicants: students whose first language is not English and who have not studied at an English-speaking school for at least four years need an AEAS certificate with a minimum of Stanine 7 out of 9 in all areas, and Kindergarten to Year 3 applicants may be asked to sit an English assessment. Families moving from overseas apply in the same way, but the FAQs note that applicants without citizenship or permanent residency stay on the waitlist until their visa is approved, and that mid-year entry is not guaranteed. On a student visa, Years 5–6 girls must live with a parent, secondary girls may live with a parent or approved relative or board, and homestay is not accepted (International Enrolments page).

Scholarships

The scholarships page lists eleven awards for girls entering Years 7 to 11, each with its own rules: the All-Rounder, Boarding, Ex-Students’ Union, First Nations Scholarship Program, Foundation Bursary, Junior Academic, Senior Academic, Music, Performing Arts and Sport Performance scholarships, and the RTG STEM Scholarship. The two academic awards are the most searched:

• Junior Academic Scholarship (Year 7 entry): “full or part remission” of academic tuition fees, excluding extras such as textbooks, co-curricular activities, uniforms and laptop levies. Candidates sit the Academic Assessment Services (AAS) exam in Year 5, at the College or remotely, and must be under 12 on 31 December of the exam year. Applications for 2027 and 2028 entry have closed; applications for Year 7 2029 open on 27 April 2027.
• Senior Academic Scholarship (Year 11 entry): “up to 50 per cent remission” of tuition fees for two years, excluding extras. Candidates sit the AAS exam in Year 9. Applications for Year 11 2029 open on 27 April 2027.

Both academic scholarships require an Australian citizen or a valid Australian visa other than a subclass 500 student visa. Exam dates for the 2029 round and the number of scholarships awarded are not published on the official site. As an illustration only: a 50% Senior Academic Scholarship at 2026 rates would be worth 0.5 × $45,820 × 2 = $45,820 over Years 11 and 12. Remember that scholarships and the sibling discount do not stack — the largest single discount applies.

Bursaries

The Pymble Foundation offers a Foundation Bursary “from time to time” to students who are refugees, are in financial need and are entering Year 7 or later as day students. It covers tuition, a laptop, uniform (excluding footwear), school-related costs, sporting equipment and co-curricular activities. Applications were closed when we checked, and no dollar value or income threshold is published. A general means-tested fee-assistance scheme for other families is not described on the official pages we checked.

How a school day works: curriculum, boarding and term dates

Pymble is an in-person day and boarding school on Sydney time. The College describes its curriculum in terms of academic, emotional, social and digital “intelligences”, and its official “Pymble difference” page lists 54 HSC subjects, 55+ co-curricular sports and activities and a median ATAR of 91.45. English is the only compulsory subject in the Senior School. Outdoor education runs through Vision Valley, and the College also highlights programs such as an Olympic pathways program, a STEM Academy and international learning programs.

Boarding begins in Year 7 and is full boarding, not weekly. Year 7 boarders live in Avonmoore, Years 8 to 11 in Marden and Goodlet, and Year 12 in Lang House. The annual boarding fee for Year 12 is payable even if a girl leaves boarding after her final HSC exams.

The term dates page shows the 2026 year running from Thursday 29 January to Wednesday 2 December, and 2027 from Thursday 28 January to Wednesday 1 December, in four terms. If you are comparing a campus school with learning from home, our explainer on how an online international school day works shows what the other side looks like.

Pymble vs nearby schools: Abbotsleigh, Wenona and NGA (official data)

Families looking at Pymble often also look at Abbotsleigh in Wahroonga and Wenona in North Sydney, two other independent girls’ schools with boarding. NIJIN GLOBAL ACADEMY (NGA) is a different kind of school altogether — online, for ages 6–18, and not yet open. Where a school does not publish a figure, we say so rather than estimate.

On the published 2026 numbers, Year 7 at Pymble costs $45,560 including the IT Levy, and Year 7 at Abbotsleigh costs $44,000 including its other compulsory fees — close enough that fit, location and entry route will usually matter more than price. Over Years 7–12, Abbotsleigh adds up to 2 × $41,600 + 2 × $42,700 + 2 × $44,300 = $257,200 tuition, plus $13,460 in other compulsory fees and $4,950 in entry fees = $275,610, against Pymble’s $280,130. Note that Abbotsleigh bundles items such as excursions and outdoor education into its “other compulsory fees”, while Pymble includes compulsory camps in tuition and bills other extras as ancillary charges, so the two are not perfectly like-for-like.

Sources: Pymble College Fees 2026 (PDF), Pymble enrolment FAQs, Abbotsleigh Fee Schedule 2026 (PDF), Abbotsleigh entrance testing, Wenona enrolment process — all checked 10 November 2026.

Accreditation, HSC and university recognition

Pymble prepares girls for the NSW Higher School Certificate, which leads to an ATAR used for Australian university entry and recognised by many universities overseas. The College is registered with the NSW Education Standards Authority to accept overseas students (CRICOS Provider Code 03288K) and describes itself as a Cambridge International School, offering some IGCSE subjects in the Upper School. It does not offer the International Baccalaureate. Its published median ATAR of 91.45 comes from a non-selective intake, which is useful context when comparing it with selective schools.

Reviews and common concerns, answered honestly

Parents researching Pymble tend to raise the same questions. Here is what the official pages say, so you can weigh them yourself.

“Is Pymble worth around $45,000 a year?”

That depends on what your daughter will use. The fee buys a girls-only K–12 school on one large campus, an outdoor education campus, compulsory camps included in tuition, a wide HSC subject list, boarding and a large co-curricular program. Families who will use little of that may find better value elsewhere; families whose daughter thrives on breadth often feel the opposite.

“Do we need tutoring for an entrance test?”

No — Pymble is non-selective and has no entrance exam. The interview, school reports and timing of your application matter. The only tests are the optional AAS scholarship exams and, for some non-native English speakers, an AEAS English assessment.

“Why does applying early matter so much?”

Because places are allocated by application date. Many families apply years ahead; the confirmed-place process begins about two years before entry. If you are applying late, ask the Enrolments team about current availability rather than assuming a year is full.

“What extras should we budget for?”

Beyond tuition and the IT Levy, ancillary charges for excursions, subject materials, sport, dance and music are billed a term in arrears, and the College says it cannot estimate them in advance. Uniforms, textbooks and a senior-years laptop are extra. The overseas schedule’s estimates — about $1,600 for a first-year uniform and about $1,200 a year for books and stationery — are a reasonable starting point to ask about.

“Is a girls-only school right for my daughter?”

This is a family judgement. Pymble is firmly committed to all-girls education and runs co-educational programs with partner boys’ schools. If daily co-education matters to you, look at co-educational schools alongside it.

Alternatives to Pymble Ladies’ College worth comparing

Abbotsleigh suits families who want a similar North Shore girls’ school with boarding and are comfortable with an entrance test for Year 7 day entry. Its 2026 fees are published in full, from $24,050 (Transition) to $44,300 (Years 11–12) tuition, plus other compulsory fees, with full-time and weekly boarding options.

Wenona, in North Sydney, suits families who want a non-selective girls’ school closer to the city. It accepts girls at Kindergarten, Year 3, Year 5 and Year 7, offers boarding from Year 7 and lists academic, music, all-rounder, boarding and means-tested scholarships. Its tuition is not published on the official site — the enrolment page asks families to contact the Enrolments Team for the current schedule.

NIJIN GLOBAL ACADEMY (NGA) is a different kind of option. It 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, and it is operated by NIJIN Inc. in Japan, whose alternative school NIJIN Academy has more than 1,000 students. NGA does not rank children by test scores: lessons are small-group live dialogue (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 plus international exchange. An optional Cambridge IGCSE / A-Level pathway is listed on the curriculum and timetable page. There is no academic entrance exam and no English requirement; it can run alongside a local school or as the main school, and it travels with the family if they relocate. Tuition is not yet published; NGA says it will be far more affordable than a typical international school, with no enrolment, facility or uniform fees, materials included and sibling discounts.

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, and it is not a campus school — there is no boarding, no campus sport and no Vision Valley. Its timetable is built for Asia–Oceania daytime; Sydney is one to two hours ahead of Japan depending on daylight saving, so live classes may fit an Australian day well, but families should still check the timetable against local time. If you want the HSC in an all-girls campus setting, Pymble, Abbotsleigh and Wenona are the schools to compare.

For more Sydney options, see our guides to international schools in Sydney, Sydney Grammar School fees and Cranbrook School fees, or read about online school options in Australia.

See how NGA admissions work →

Also on the upper North Shore: Barker College fees — tuition, levies and entry, from the official 2026 schedule.

FAQ

How much are Pymble Ladies’ College fees per year?

For 2026, day tuition is $30,575 (Kindergarten–Year 2), $35,210 (Years 3–4), $36,730 (Years 5–6), $44,710 (Years 7–8), $45,540 (Years 9–10) and $45,820 (Years 11–12), plus a compulsory IT Levy of $200–$850. Boarding adds $36,322 a year (official College Fees 2026, checked 10 November 2026).

What one-off fees does Pymble charge?

A $440 Application Fee, a $2,000 Acceptance Fee when a Provisional Place is accepted and a $2,400 Entry Fee when the place is confirmed — $4,840 in total, all non-refundable and not credited towards tuition.

Does Pymble have an entrance exam?

No. Pymble is non-selective; entry is by application date, school reports and an interview. Some applicants whose first language is not English need an AEAS certificate (Stanine 7 or above).

Can international students enrol at Pymble?

Yes. The College is registered for overseas students from Kindergarten to Year 12 (CRICOS 03288K), with a separate fee schedule ($40,315–$57,260 tuition a year in 2026) and living arrangements set by visa rules — homestay is not accepted.

Is Pymble worth it, and what are the alternatives?

It can be for girls who will make full use of a broad K–12 campus program. Families often compare Abbotsleigh ($41,600–$44,300 tuition in Years 7–12 in 2026) and Wenona (fees from the Enrolments Team). 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 and is not yet accredited.

Choosing calmly, with the whole picture

Pymble Ladies’ College offers a long-established, all-girls education on a large campus, with boarding and a non-selective door. The most useful things you can do now are to decide your entry year early, because places go by application date, and to budget the whole journey — tuition, IT Levy, enrolment fees and the extras — rather than one year’s fee. Whichever school you choose, the right one is the place where your daughter will be known, stretched and happy.

Tuition and admissions details were checked on the official websites on 10 November 2026. Schools revise fees every year — always confirm on the official site before applying.

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