Whether you’re moving to a new area or simply looking at high schools near you, researching your options is a good idea!
When considering a high school, there are many factors to take into consideration:
- Cost of tuition
- Campus culture
- Educational curriculum and teaching methods
- Extra-curricular activities
One of the other indicators you can look at is test score results, however, it’s important to weigh the other important aspects of a school before making a decision!
Plan your high school career (and mark the holidays on your calendar) after learning more about the best high schools in Melbourne!
Top Schools in Melbourne: an Overview
We’ve been researching the best high schools in Australia, finding out the best high schools in each state.
It's been an amazing experience but we could hardly contain our wonder over the schools in Victoria's capital city. In a sense, it was easier to appraise Melbourne-area high schools and colleges than trying to figure out which were the best schools in Perth. There are two reasons for that.
First, we had far more schools to choose from and Melbourne has a better ratio of private-public schools.
- Melbourne-area schools enjoy a friendly sports rivalry with other schools in Australia. Photo by leah hetteberg on Unsplash
Second, our preliminary investigation turned up lots of articles touting Melbourne-area schools based on various criteria. Those included average Victoria Certificate of Education (VCE) scores, student performance scores in English and Maths and so on. A couple of sources even ranked schools based on students' average Australian Tertiary Admissions Ranking (ATAR) scores.
Melbourne and surrounding areas count 201 public high schools, 28 private/independent schools and 64 Catholic schools. As private and religious schools generally charge tuition and public schools don't, we divided them along that line. Thus, our table includes Christian and Anglican schools alongside independent, non-denominational schools.
Here is a ranking of the top 10 private schools Melbourne and the top 10 public schools.
| Rank | Schools | Sector | Location | Total Enrolment (2023) | Median VCE Score (2023) | Median ATAR (2023) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Presbyterian Ladies' College | Private | Burwood | 1514 | 35 | 92.25 |
| 2 | Fintona Girls School | Private | Balwyn | 497 | unknown | unknown |
| 3 | Haileybury College | Private | Keysborough | 4689 | 35 | 89.40 |
| 4 | Huntingtower School | Private | Mount Waverley | 739 | 37 | 93.50 |
| 5 | Camberwell Grammar School | Private | Canterbury | 1320 | 35 | 87.30 |
| 6 | Lighthouse Christian College | Private | Keysborough | 759 | 31 | unknown |
| 7 | Melbourne Grammar School | Private | Melbourne | 1825 | 35 | unknown |
| 8 | Korowa Anglican Girls' School | Private | Glen Iris | 721 | 36 | 94.10 |
| 9 | Camberwell Girls Grammar School | Private | Canterbury | 756 | unknown | unknown |
| 10 | St Andrews Christian College | Private | Wantirna South | 680 | 32 | unknown |
| 1 | Melbourne High School | Public | South Yarra | 1369 | unknown (not in the top 100) | 94.7 |
| 2 | MacRobertson Girls High School | Public | Melbourne | 1188 | unknown (not in the top 100) | 95.25 |
| 3 | Nossal High School | Public | Berwick | 831 | unknown (not in the top 100) | unknown |
| 4 | Suzanne Cory High School | Public | Werribee | 906 | unknown (not in the top 100) | unknown |
| 5 | Glen Waverley Secondary College | Public | Glen Waverley | 2173 | unknown (not in the top 100) | unknown |
| 6 | Balwyn High School | Public | Balwyn North | 2221 | unknown (not in the top 100) | 97.1 |
| 7 | Victorian College of the Arts | Public | Southbank | 353 | unknown (not in the top 100) | unknown |
| 8 | Highvale Secondary College | Public | Glen Waverley | 1129 | unknown (not in the top 100) | unknown |
| 9 | East Doncaster Secondary College | Public | East Doncaster Secondary College | 1835 | unknown (not in the top 100) | 79 |
| 10 | Box Hill High School | Public | Box Hill | 1479 | unknown (not in the top 100) | 85.6 |
While data and numbers aren’t everything, they are still important to know when making an informed decision.
Our favourite informational nugget we gleaned while researching was discovering that Melbourne schools share a (friendly) sports rivalry with one of the best schools in Adelaide. Read on to find out which schools we're talking about.
Best Private High Schools Melbourne
Private schools are believed to offer better education, and while this aspect is debatable, it’s typically true that they may offer better extra-curricular activities. Plus, if you want your child to learn in a religious environment or with an alternative educational approach, you’ll need to seek a non-government institution.
Presbyterian Ladies’ College
2023 NAPLAN Scores:
Year 7: Well Above Average
Year 9: Well Above Average
The top pick in the private school category happens to be a Christian school: Presbyterian Ladies' College. This day and boarding school is one of the earliest campuses open to female students in Victoria - indeed, in all of Australia. It opened its doors in 1875, nearly 25 years after its brother school, Scotch College. In an odd twist, Scotch College did not make the Top Ten list of schools this year.
Presbyterian Ladies' College offers an expansive curriculum with core subjects like English, Maths and Science to underpin it. Each student is required to pursue foreign language instruction starting in the lower grades all the way through Year 12. Beyond that, students have a generous list of electives and enrichment programs to choose from. Those include the Arts, sports, outdoor education and, most beguilingly, chess.
- For students, campus amenities matter as much as learning programs. Photo by Getty via Unsplash.
Fintona Girls School
2023 NAPLAN Scores:
Year 7: Well Above Average
Year 9: Above Average
Founded by the visionary educator Miss Margaret McLellan, Fintona Girls School emphasizes a holistic approach to learning. The curriculum is tailored to foster academic excellence, offering the Victorian Certificate of Education (VCE) alongside a strong focus on STEM, arts, and humanities. Extra-curricular activities include sports, music, drama, and leadership programs, promoting personal growth and teamwork. An interesting fact is that Fintona has a strong commitment to environmental sustainability, integrating eco-friendly practices into school life, and encouraging students to engage with global issues.
Haileybury College
2023 NAPLAN Scores:
Year 7: Well Above Average
Year 9: Above Average
Haileybury was originally established as a boys' school, but it has since evolved into a co-educational institution with campuses in Keysborough, Brighton, Berwick, and City. The curriculum is diverse, offering the International Baccalaureate (IB) alongside the Victorian Certificate of Education (VCE), with a strong emphasis on STEAM subjects, languages, and the arts. Extra-curricular activities are extensive, including sports, music, drama, and community service programs, fostering well-rounded development. Haileybury is is committed to global citizenship, encouraging students to engage in international exchanges and service projects.
What is the Best Public School in Melbourne?
While they may not appear as high on the charts as the private schools in terms of certain exam results, the public schools in Melbourne are excellent choices for many students!
Around the world and across Australia, the debate rages over whether public or private education is the best. That's not a fair discussion because what makes anything the best depends a lot on who makes that call. For instance, a student with learning difficulties would not think a school is good if they had no access to special educational programs. A mobility-challenged student wouldn't care for an elaborately laid-out campus if it meant they couldn't get to class.
However, there's one way to assess the best high schools, whether in Canberra or in Melbourne: with statistics. Comparing Melbourne-area public and private schools on the same criteria turned up surprising results. Well, surprising if you were expecting private schools to win the debate.
Across the board, our top ten private schools swept the Maths category, earning the highest percentages. So did the public schools. Private schools had a similar track record for English results.
So, what are the top secondary schools in Melbourne?
Melbourne High School
2023 NAPLAN Scores:
Year 9: Well Above Average
Melbourne High School is a government-funded all-boys high school. It opened its doors in 1905 as a coeducational facility, the first of its kind in Victoria. By the early 1920s, the original campus had grown too small and dilapidated to continue teaching such a large student body. The schools split in 1927, with the boys moving to facilities in South Yarra, its current location.
Unlike the Presbyterian Ladies' College brother school, Melbourne High's sister school holds its own in the rankings. It is one of the very best schools Melbourne and indeed one of the best in all of Australia!
- Public schools often get a bad rap for underfunding and poor extracurricular activities programs. Photo by Giulia Squillace on Unsplash
MacRobertson Girls High School
2023 NAPLAN Scores:
Year 9: Well Above Average
Mac Robinson's Girls High School matches Melbourne High in English and Maths scores, and both earned a State Overall score of 100. These schools tie for first place on our list of best public schools, with the Girls' campus welcoming 230 fewer students than their brother school.
The Melbourne High School complex indulges its passion for sports through its rivalry with Adelaide schools. However, we found that it more closely ties with high schools in Sydney for educational quality, campus amenities and the wealth of learning programs on offer.
Nossal High School
2023 NAPLAN Scores:
Year 9: Well Above Average
Nossal High School was established in 2010 as a selective co-educational school with a focus on academic excellence. Named after Sir Gustav Nossal, a prominent immunologist, the school emphasizes a rigorous curriculum aligned with the Victorian Certificate of Education (VCE) and offers a strong foundation in STEM, humanities, and the arts. Beyond academics, students can participate in various extra-curricular activities, including robotics, debating, and sports.
Picking the School in Melbourne for Your Needs
Just going by the numbers, Melbourne-area public schools rate better than their private-independent and religious counterparts. These numbers tell us a few other things, though.
In Australia as in many parts of the world, public schools guarantee an education to anyone who lives in their postcode. Melbourne-area government-funded schools go to great lengths to meet or exceed the learning standards the state sets forth. The statistics we examined show that those schools' teachers and administrators are doing a great job of it.
At the end of the day, the best high school in Melbourne is the one that suits your needs and educational goals the best. A family with strong religious values would want their children educated in a school that reinforces their beliefs. A family that does not have the means to afford private school tuition will appreciate the core learning programs and extracurricular activities that public schools offer. They might then splurge on a private tutor to help their learners prepare for exams.
My mate teaches at one of the best high schools in Brisbane. They contend that the 'best school' debate mainly serves people looking to move into the area. That argument has merit, especially considering how little difference there is between the schools we covered in this article.
If you're already settled in Melbourne, your students are zoned for the school in your postcode. If you'd rather they attended a different school, you may choose between private/independent campuses or a Christian school, as you prefer. Your emphasis will then be on the curriculum and values espoused, not (necessarily) on school rankings.
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