High Schools in Melbourne

December 30, 2010

Hi All,

We've just got our visa ("Great Xmas present, thanks DIAC") so are now looking at places to live in Melbourne (coming over in Feb for a rece and looking to move over ASAP). We're a family of 4, my wife and I are professionals so will likely be working in the CBD, eldest child wants to go to beauty college so she's easily sorted, but my 15 year old son is Very academic (A* student in all of his subjects and taking 6 GCSE's a year early) so we want the best school for him which will challenge him and will give him the qualifications to get him his choice of Uni's. Can anyone recommend schools please?

We're not averse to paying for private schooling if that's what's needed but don't want to bancrupt ourselves if you know what I mean.

Thanks in advance,

Petals · December 30, 2010

Depends where you are going to live and how long a commute you want for your son.

Scots College, Melbourne Grammar, Geelong Grammar, Haileybury, Wesley are some of the top private schools and pricey, have a look at the web site AISV - School Locator

Melbourne High School is also a very good school which takes academic students and is a government school.

Find a school | ACARA another site to assist you once you decide where you are going to live.

Melbourne is such a large area with four million residents so there are a lot of high schools around.

Good luck

olly · December 30, 2010

Hi there, it depends what area you live in as you don't want the kids to have to travel too far to get to school, but if you live where easy public transport is, and your son is bright he might be able to apply to the selective schools which are public high schools - maybe somewhere like Melbourne High School which is selective for boys. Some of my family members teach at some of the schools Petals mentioned, and I would not like to say too much, but would mention that it is worth thinking about choosing a school which is also concerned with student welfare rather than just their academic results.

One family member who had their kids at one of the schools they now teach at said had they known the true flavour of the school they would have never made that decision. It depends on what sort of boy your son is, if he is sporty, academic, outgoing and confident he could probably do well anywhere, but if he is a little more quiet and sensitive type of kid then a smaller school might suit. It would be better if we knew where abouts you might settle, as most of the top private schools are in the eastern region, but there are others in other areas. There are also some really good Catholic colleges too even if that was a choice you wanted to make. Also in the southern suburbs I believe McKinnon High is selective, or in the outer east Box Hill High is good. Hailybury College in Keysborough (with a Berwick campus too) is a nice school, but expensive. Two other ones which are in the outer east (more affordable type of real estate too from the city prices) are Yarra Valley Grammar and Luther College in Warranwood/Nth Ringwood. Buses service these schools, but there is a train station at Ringwood. The other side of town in the West I can't really help you with. Some of the big private schools you pay big dollars for - $25,000 per year and that's just the fees, and it doesn't always mean you are getting good value for that. If you wanted some more specific answers, not that I have all the answers, but you are welcome to send me a private message and I'll see what I can do.

December 30, 2010

I agree with Olly and think McKinnon is probably going to be a good starting point. Bear in mind you yourselves need to visit the schools and get your own gut feel for what is on offer.

On private schools I think its just too late at 15 to try and expect entry. These schools are very over subscribed and not necessarily going to give you high academic excellence on its own. Its more a causal result of a higher percentage of parents pushing their kids through school versus state where a higher percentage see it as childcare (now before everyone jumps up I mean higher percentage not saying all parents are like that).

Now back to Mckinnon this is going to also be in close proximity to the city and the school is public or state (ie non private) however you will need to be careful to get into the right zone. Therefore you pay a premium for house cost (much the same the world over).

Another alternative is Glen Waverley (a major attraction for asian (chinese) familes).

January 30, 2011

The education system in Victoria is, unfortunately, rather stratified. The brightest students are usually offered generous scholarships to a small group of private schools, which in turn churn out the vast majority of high-achievers. The only government school that really competes with the top private schools in academics is Melbourne High, which is selective. It's also rather over-subscribed, since it's extremely popular with Asian families. Balwyn High and Glen Waverley Secondary College are two other good government schools, but they are not quite of the same calibre. And beyond these three, I'm sorry to say, the state system is a bit of a basket case. Many middle-class families - most of those who can afford to do so, and many who actually can't - have fled to the private sector.

If I had to compile a list of schools you could investigate, it would look something like this:

Melbourne High School (government with selective intake, boys only)

Balwyn High School (government, co-ed)

Glen Waverley Secondary College (government, co-ed)

Scotch College (private, Presbyterian, boys only)

Melbourne Grammar School (private, CofE, boys only)

Xavier College (private, Catholic, boys only)

Camberwell Grammar (private, CofE, boys only)

Trinity Grammar (private, CofE, boys only)

St Kevin's College (private, Catholic, boys only)

Wesley College (private, Uniting Church, co-ed)

Geelong Grammar School (private, CofE, co-ed)

Haileybury College (private, non-denominational, co-ed)

Of the schools above, MGS, Scotch and Xavier arguably offer the best education to very able students. The highest-scoring student in the state often comes from Xavier, which is the only school to offer both Latin and Classical Greek. Melbourne Grammar is known for having excellent programs in maths and science, and one year ago had seven of the top twenty-five students in the state. And Scotch is perhaps the richest and most famous school in Australia, so naturally it's especially strong.

The private schools in general charge day-fees of around $20,000 per year (boarding is twice as much), but there are usually scholarships available for entry in year 11. You can get anywhere from 25% to 100% of the fees covered, depending upon your circumstances and the school in question. I would certainly recommend that you have your son sit a few of the scholarship exams: the cost of failure is miniscule, and the rewards of success are rather large.

From your post, I don't know what to understand when you say that you'd like your son to have his pick of universities. If he is very bright, then Oxford, Cambridge, Harvard, Yale and Princeton are possibilities. All take a small number of students from Melbourne each year. Oxford and Cambridge will be comparatively affordable given your UK citizenship, while the three American universities have extremely generous financial aid schemes that make money a non-issue for every student they admit. If something like this is on the cards, then the schools I've listed above would give him the best chance. On the other hand, if what you have in mind is a good Australian university - the most obvious choices being the University of Melbourne and Monash University - then choice of school is not quite so important. A bright student will get a place in either of these irrespective of where he goes to school. The difference would be more in the quality of education during his high school years than in the final outcome.

On a final note, you will find that private schools tend to offer much more in the way of extracurricular activities like sport, music, drama and art. They are also better resourced (as you would expect from the scale of fees).

Wow. That was a longer post than I had anticipated. Hope it helps, and good luck with the move.

January 30, 2011

Looking at it from a different perspective if you'd like him to do the International Baccalaureate which is recognised world wide there are only a handful of schools available for this:

Australian International Academy of Education (North Coburg - up to $16000 pa - 1231 students - aia.vic.edu.au)

Carey Baptist Grammar (Kew and Donvale - up to $20540 - 2300 students - carey.com.au)

Geelong Grammar School

Haileybury College (Keysborough, Berwick, Brighton - up to $27980 - 2115 students in secondary - haileybury.vic.edu.au)Ivanhoe Grammar

Kardinia International College

Lauriston Girls School

Macedon Grammar School

Methodist Ladies' college

Mowbray College (Melton and Caroline Springs - $18000 - mobray.vic.edu.au)

Presbyterian Ladies' college

St Leonard's College (Patterson River - further out than Mordialloc - $21206 - stleonards.vic.edu.au)

The Kilmore International School

Tintern Anglican Girls Grammar School (offers to boys through it's boys school Southwood and they have a co-ed component - Ringwood - $20112 - tinternschools.vic.edu.au )

Werribee Secondary College

Wesley College (campuses in Glen Waverley and St Kilda Road - lovely purple uniform - up to $21384 - wesleycollege.net)

I may have costs slightly wrong as they had a different fee for international students and I wasn't sure which you'd qualify for - I've not put details for schools which you wouldn't normally commute to Melbourne from or, obviously, for the girls schools.

If these schools or the course doesn't suit him then you could look at schools which have accelerated learning for gifted students. . Apparently there are also a number of organisations that specialise in advocacy and services for gifted and talented children including the Children of High intellectual Potential (CHIP) which provides assessments and information.

(information taken from hobsons: The Good Schools Guide Victoria 2011)

Ones I know of in the public sector which run Alpha programmes include East Doncaster and Box Hill High but Blackburn and Doncaster also have excellent reputations in their sector.

Box Hill also has a TAFE with a hair and beauty school http://www.bhtafe.edu.au/courses/HBF/Pages/hair-beauty-and-floristry.aspx obviously I'm concentrating on my own area as I know it best. If you're interested in Box Hill (as others have suggested) it's a lovely area but it the start of commuter belt. Any further out and station parking is free and roads when not commuting are reasonable for traffic. Box Hill's dynamic with loads of yummy Asian restaurants but though I only live 15 minutes away I only go there to take my daughter to school or if there's a kids' party there. Doncaster is a lovely town with great shopping (Westfield) and fabulous bus links to the City about 8 minutes drive from Box Hill but it doesn't have trams or trains so property prices have stayed more reasonable. Otherwise if you were looking in the Ringwood/Box Hill area I'd be looking to live in Park Orchards or Donvale and drive to Mitcham train station where there's plenty of parking but less of a reputation for idiots loitering than Ringwood and free (and easy parking) compared to Box Hill.

Good luck with your hunt. Hope this helps you - as you're just starting your search there'll be plenty more information coming your way.

Feel free to ask more questions.

Cal