Melbourne Schools and Education Guide: Public, Private, and Selective

Melbourne's education landscape is one of Australia's finest and most diverse: the city's government school system (the Victorian Department of Education operates approximately 1,600 government schools in metropolitan Melbourne), the extensive Catholic school network (the Catholic Education Melbourne system operates approximately 500 schools), the independent school sector (including the prestigious Associated Public Schools group, which includes Melbourne Grammar, Scotch College, Xavier College, Wesley College, and Geelong Grammar), and the world-class university network (the University of Melbourne, ranked consistently in the world's top 30-50 universities, and Monash University, in the world's top 50-100) together create an education environment of extraordinary quality and variety. Melbourne's reputation as Australia's education capital (particularly at the elite independent school and university levels) reflects decades of investment in educational excellence.

Government Selective Entry High Schools — Victoria operates a small number of highly selective government schools in Melbourne: the Melbourne High School (the flagship government selective high school for boys, South Yarra, admitting approximately 350 students per year on academic merit), the Mac.Robertson Girls' High School (the flagship government selective high school for girls, Carlton, equally prestigious), the John Monash Science School (a specialist selective school for students interested in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics, based at Monash University Clayton campus), and the SEAL (Select Entry Accelerated Learning) program available at a number of government secondary schools across Melbourne. Competition for Melbourne High and Mac.Rob places is intense, and the schools consistently produce Victoria's highest VCE results.

APS and ACC Independent Schools — Melbourne's elite independent school sector (centred on the Associated Public Schools, APS, and the Associated Catholic Colleges, ACC sporting competitions) includes some of Australia's most academically and athletically prestigious schools: Melbourne Grammar School, Scotch College, Xavier College, Wesley College, Trinity Grammar School, Haileybury, Carey Grammar, and Geelong Grammar (in the nearby city of Geelong) are among the most well-known. These schools charge significant fees (up to $45,000 per year at the most prestigious levels) and provide extraordinary resources, facilities, and academic outcomes.

Universities: Melbourne and Monash — the University of Melbourne (Parkville, 2km north of the CBD) is Australia's highest-ranked university (consistently ranked 30-50 globally) and the most prestigious university in Victoria: the Melbourne Model (graduate-entry professional degrees in law, medicine, dentistry, teaching, and engineering following a broad undergraduate Bachelor of Arts, Commerce, or Science degree) is the distinctive Melbourne educational philosophy. Monash University (Clayton, 20km south-east of Melbourne) is consistently ranked in the world's top 50-100 and is Australia's largest university by research output.

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