South Australian parents still reeling from controversial city school zone changes could feel as if "salt has been rubbed in their wounds" as new figures show almost half of current students live outside school boundaries.
The ABC can reveal that 60 per cent of Adelaide High School's students live outside the popular school's zone, frustrating nearby parents in the western suburbs who have been told their children have to go somewhere else.
The 2018 figures — obtained under freedom of information laws — showed that 47 per cent of students at the state's zoned public high schools live outside school zone boundaries.
What percentage of students live outside each public high school's zone?
Megan and Michael Penno's daughters had their heart set on attending the city schools, but the State Government has removed their Mile End home from the school zone.
The Government argued the school zone needed to be reduced because both Adelaide and Botanic High are already at capacity.
Families left reeling
Ms Penno said when she discovered the zone was changed, it felt like "a bomb had been dropped".
The fact that so many of the current enrolments are outside the zone came as a surprise to her.
"Not all of these enrolments at this school can be accounted for by the special entry program," she said.
"How did the Department for Education not take this into account? How are all these families able to access these schools?
"To be told that we are no longer able to attend that school, yet families who live much further away are able to do so ... it's really difficult to imagine that the capacity issue is the primary issue here."
Chloe, 10, said Adelaide High School's specialist classes appealed to her.
"I've always liked music and languages and when I saw the Greek room there I knew that would be something I wanted to do," she said.
"I've been to [open days at] Adelaide and Underdale. I don't mind Underdale although it does kind of remind me of a caravan park."
Her sister Paige, aged 8, is attracted to Botanic High School, both because of the school's STEM program, and for another reason.
"I want to go to Botanic High because sometimes after school I could go to the zoo," she said.
She is aspiring to be a zoo keeper.
The popular Unley and Marryatville high schools have the highest proportion of out-of-zone students, with more than three in four students living outside the zone boundaries.
Unley and Adelaide High are two of four schools getting state funding to accommodate rising enrolments and Year 7 students in coming years.
Three in four students live outside the zone at some schools
Salisbury High is third in the rankings, with 73 per cent of students coming from outside the zone.
The data shows that even Henley High and Glenunga International High School — which have capacity management plans in place due to their popularity — have about half of their students travelling to school from outside the zone.
All up, out-of-zone students make up the majority of enrolments in 21 of South Australia's 45 zoned high schools.
The enrolment figures are from August 2018 and pre-date the opening of the second city public high school, Botanic High School, at the start of this year.
Education Minister John Gardner said Adelaide High School has special entry programs in music and sport for students outside the zone, representing around 90 students at each year level.
That only accounts for around half of the out-of-zone enrolments at the school.
"Sometimes students who were in the zone when they enrolled at the school may move out of the zone, and we allow students to stay at the school once they have started at the school," Mr Gardner said.
"In recent years Adelaide High has been increasingly enforcing their zone."
South-western suburbs Labor MP Jayne Stinson, who has been campaigning against the zone changes, said the figures rub salt in the wound of parents who have been excised from the city zone.
"To know that other kids are getting that opportunity, even though they don't live locally, is really disappointing, and I can understand how it really feels like salt being rubbed in the wound after this government decision," she said.
"I think a lot of parents would be really surprised to know that 60, 70 almost 80 per cent of children at some of their local schools are not from their local area.
"Their kids can't go to their local neighbourhood school, but more than half the kids at some of our most popular schools are not from the local area."
| School | Total enrolment | Not in zone | Percent outside zone |
| Aberfoyle Park High School | 1025 | 385 | 37.6% |
| Adelaide High School | 1471 | 862 | 58.6% |
| Avenues College | 430 | 257 | 59.8% |
| Banksia Park International HS | 862 | 458 | 53.1% |
| Blackwood High School | 954 | 559 | 58.6% |
| Brighton Secondary School | 1662 | 937 | 56.4% |
| Charles Campbell College | 803 | 412 | 51.3% |
| Christies Beach HS & Sth Voc College | 773 | 171 | 22.1% |
| Craigmore High School | 986 | 393 | 39.9% |
| Findon High School | 262 | 124 | 47.3% |
| Gawler and District College B-12 | 930 | 251 | 27.0% |
| Glenunga International High School | 1768 | 795 | 45.0% |
| Golden Grove High School | 1332 | 446 | 33.5% |
| Hallett Cove School | 731 | 426 | 58.3% |
| Hamilton Secondary College | 614 | 345 | 56.2% |
| Heathfield High School | 789 | 409 | 51.8% |
| Henley High School | 1395 | 764 | 54.8% |
| Le Fevre High School | 541 | 243 | 44.9% |
| Mark Oliphant College | 775 | 120 | 15.5% |
| Marryatville High School | 1328 | 1017 | 76.6% |
| Modbury High School | 775 | 440 | 56.8% |
| Norwood Morialta High School | 1511 | 699 | 46.3% |
| Ocean View P-12 College | 364 | 94 | 25.8% |
| Para Hills High School | 491 | 254 | 51.7% |
| Parafield Gardens High School | 908 | 346 | 38.1% |
| Paralowie School | 803 | 192 | 23.9% |
| Pasadena High School | 134 | 84 | 62.7% |
| Playford International College | 998 | 286 | 28.7% |
| Plympton International College | 244 | 60 | 24.6% |
| Reynella East College | 1157 | 374 | 32.3% |
| Roma Mitchell Secondary College | 1261 | 670 | 53.1% |
| Salisbury East High School | 681 | 442 | 64.9% |
| Salisbury High School | 852 | 623 | 73.1% |
| Seaford Secondary College | 826 | 258 | 31.2% |
| Seaton High School | 897 | 457 | 50.9% |
| Seaview High School | 726 | 277 | 38.2% |
| The Heights School | 642 | 436 | 67.9% |
| Underdale High School | 501 | 311 | 62.1% |
| Unley High School | 1191 | 927 | 77.8% |
| Valley View Secondary School | 318 | 134 | 42.1% |
| Willunga High School | 1022 | 259 | 25.3% |
| Wirreanda Secondary School | 884 | 373 | 42.2% |
| Woodville High School | 1004 | 271 | 27.0% |
