Schools in Melbourne 2026 — Public, Private and Catholic Schools Guide for Greater Melbourne

Schools in Melbourne 2026 — Overview

Melbourne has a complex school landscape — Victorian Government schools, a very large Catholic school sector and Australia's most prestigious private school network. Understanding Melbourne's school system is essential for families choosing where to live. vic.gov.au/education

Victorian Government Schools

Victoria's government schools are operated by the Department of Education (DoE). Most primary schools operate within a defined neighbourhood zone — check your zone at findmyschool.vic.gov.au. Secondary schools have neighbourhood zones for most students but also accept out-of-zone students where places are available. findmyschool.vic.gov.au

Selective Entry Schools

Victoria has a small number of selective entry government schools: Melbourne High School (boys, Year 9 entry), MacRobertson Girls' High School (girls, Year 9 entry), Nossal High School (Berwick, Year 9 entry), Suzanne Cory High School (Werribee, Year 9 entry). Selective entry is via statewide academic test. education.vic.gov.au

Private Schools

Melbourne's GPS schools are among Australia's most prestigious — Melbourne Grammar, Scotch College, Xavier College, Haileybury, Geelong Grammar (Corio) and the APS girls' schools (Loreto, Genazzano, MLC, Korowa). Enrolment applications for top schools are required years in advance. ais.vic.edu.au

NAPLAN and MySchool

Victorian schools participate in NAPLAN annually. Compare school results and demographic profiles at myschool.edu.au — the standard reference for Australian school comparison. myschool.edu.au

This article was compiled by AI and screened before publishing. See our editorial standards.