Best Secondary Schools in Melbourne – If you’re moving to Melbourne with your family or you’re a native, finding the best secondary schools in Melbourne can help ease your transition into the new community and make it easier to settle in.
After all, your child’s education will have an enormous impact on their future prospects and opportunities, so it’s important to choose the best secondary schools in Melbourne as the quality of education that they’ll receive, combined with the many opportunities that they’ll have available to them, will give them a great start on their path to adulthood and success in life.
Luckily, there are plenty of great schools to choose from, here is a list of the top six best secondary schools in Melbourne as of 2022.
Top 6 Best Secondary Schools in Melbourne
1. Fintona Girls School
Fintona Girls School is a relatively small independent and non-denominational all-girls school established in 1896 by Annie Hughston.
The school is strong academically, has lots of social activities and prepares each students for university. They have state-of-the-art technology and facilities. Their teachers have plenty of experience and high annual graduation rate.
FGS offers a wide range of academic subjects including mathematics, physics, history, science & technology, arts and physical education in three different languages namely French, Japanese, and Latin.
The highly acclaimed school boasts an impressive string of accomplishments, including having prominent individuals among its alumnae, and it has consistently ranked first or second at state and national competitions.
Students here are pushed to excel while also encouraged to find joy in learning, all thanks to an academic program that combines traditional education with modern technology.
Some of Fintona Girls School’s notable alumnae are:
- Hannah Greenwood, an Australian television actress populously known for starring as Saskia Litras in an Australian children’s series
- Dora Mary Lush, an Australian bacteriologist
- Norma Catherine Bull, an Australian painter and etcher best known for her sketches during World War II
- Dame Beryl Edith Beaurepaire, a political activist and philanthropist
- Alison Grant Harcourt, an Australian mathematician and statistician
- Louise Bawden, a volleyball and beach volleyball Olympian player
2. Melbourne High School
Melbourne High School (MHS) is an all-boys government-funded and academically selective institution established on the 15th of February, 1905, by Frank Tate, an Australian educationist.
Its strong reputation for academic excellence and its diverse range of extracurricular activities make it an attractive choice for local families. If your child is a girl, you may want to consider its sister school, Mac.Robertson Girls’ High School, which is located just around 3.6 kilometres away. MHS offers entry from Year 9 to Year 12 students who live within its catchment area.
The school continues to engage students through an inquiry-based approach and engagement with real-world issues, making it one of Australia’s leading secondary schools. MHS students are encouraged to participate in sports and community service programs.
Here are a few Melbourne High School alumni:
- Ray Evans, an Australian businessman and political conservatives
- Ruslan Kogan, entrepreneur and CEO of Kogan Technologies
- Dr Kevin John Donnelly, an Australian educator, commentator and Senior Research Fellow at the Australian Catholic University
- Professor Frederick Alexander, a historian who specialized in foreign affairs
- Professor John Tasioulas, a Greek-Australian moral philosopher
- Geoff Lord, CEO of Belgravia Group
- Michael Solomon Gudinski, an Australian record executive, promoter, and founder of Mushroom Records
3. Melbourne Grammar School
Having multiple campuses sparsely situated throughout Victoria, Melbourne Grammar is an independent multicampus and co-educational secondary institution established in 1849 by the first Church of England bishop of Melbourne, Charles Perry.
MGS is one of Australia’s oldest and most prestigious schools. It was founded in the hope to create a place where the younglings could receive an education that would prepare and equip them with skills needed in society. The school has a broad curriculum but specializes in English, Mathematics, Music and History.
The student body includes around 1,800 enrolled students from Prep to 12th grade. Despite being founded over 179 years ago, it’s known for being quite progressive and has been voted one of Australia’s top schools for consecutive years.
The focus is on performing with excellence while having fun, Melbourne Grammar School continues to uphold a reputation for high achievement and rigorous extra-curricular activities in sports such as volleyball, basketball, snowsports, hockey, rowing, football, cricket, and many more.
Some Melbourne Grammar School alumni (Old Melburnians) are:
- Lieutenant General Sir Edmund Francis Herring, World War II senior Australian Army officer and also the longest-serving Lt Governor of Victoria
- John Malcolm Fraser, the 22nd Prime Minister of Australia
- Sir John George Davies, an Australian cricketer and the 18th mayor of Hobart
- Sir Harold Daniel Luxton, a businessman, politician, and the 61st Lord Mayor of Melbourne
- William Donovan Joynt, a soldier, publisher, author, and Victoria Cross winner
- Alfred Deakin Brookes, the first Director-General of the Australian Secret Intelligence Service
4. Glen Waverley Secondary College
Glen Waverley Secondary College is a public non-selective government secondary school, as its name suggests, established in 1960 and has since gone on to become a comprehensive secondary college known for its academic rigor and strong cultural programs.
With a current total enrolment of 1,979 students and employing over 150 staff members, Glen Waverley Secondary College is one of Victoria’s highest-performing institutions. Renowned for its impressive level of individual attention, Glen Waverley prides itself on engaging each student according to their own pace and style. The school continues to deliver exceptional results while still providing a fun and enjoyable learning environment.
The campus also offers plenty of co-curricular opportunities for parents and children alike, with a large amount of sports teams and several performing arts groups. Academic achievements at GWS are well above average and they’re continuing to grow every year!
5. Scotch College, Melbourne
Located in Hawthorn, an inner suburb of Australia, Scotch College is an independent Presbyterian all-boys school founded in 1851. It was originally founded as The Melbourne Academy by James Forbes, a Scottish-Australian member of the Free Presbyterian Church of Victoria.
Scotch is consistently rated as one of Australia’s leading schools. If you are looking for an education that emphasises excellence and preparation for tertiary study or a career, Scotch provides top quality education from Prep to Year 12.
SC focuses on small class sizes, strong academic results and sporting prowess. Scotch College is the oldest existing secondary institution in the whole of Victoria, with rigorous programs focused on extracurricular and student leadership opportunities.
The school also competes in inter-school sport and is a member of the Associated Public Schools of Victoria (APS) league in various sports such as basketball, cross country, cricket, badminton, football, rugby, swimming, tennis, volleyball, hockey, and many more.
Some of Scotch College notable alumni known as Old Collegians are:
- Sir Zelman Cowen, a legal scholar and Vice-Chancellor of the University of New England
- Sir George Whitecross Paton, the Vice-Chancellor of the University of Melbourne
- Robert Bartnik, an Australian mathematician and a contributor to the general relativity in maths
- Ronald Warwick Ron Radford, an Australian curator and the Director of the National Gallery of Australia
6. Trinity Grammar School
Trinity Grammar School is an independent Anglican multi-campus secondary school for boys established by George Chambers, the Bishop of Central Tanganyika, in 1913.
Trinity Grammar has developed a reputation for excellence in all areas of academics, sporting and extra-curricular clubs. The school currently caters to over 2,000 students from Pre-K to grade 12 and is known for its strong emphasis on comprehensive education as well as its outstanding academic results.
Over 70% of students go on to university or find employment. It has a remarkable history and is a cut above most schools when it comes to reputation. Overall, an impressive school that has plenty of good things going for it.
Here are a few of Trinity Grammar School alumni known as Old Trinitarians:
- Timothy Dodds, Chief Executive of the Beston Parks Group
- David Ronald de Mey Warren, an Australian scientist and the inventor of the flight data recorder
- Marc Fennell, a radio personality, journalist and The Feed on SBS Two presenter
- Tristan Jepson, an Australian writer and comedian
- John Lamble AO, the former Suncorp Metway chairman
Read Also:
- Top 30 Best Schools in Queensland
- Top 10 Best High Schools In Brisbane
- Top 7 Best Primary Schools in Brisbane
- Top 3 Best schools in Gold Coast
- Top 8 Best Private Schools In Adelaide
Conclusion
With so many different secondary schools to choose from in Melbourne, parents will have a difficult time choosing one. We’ve explored 8 of the best secondary schools in Melbourne, based on a range of factors from university admissions to extracurricular activities.
Make sure to take your child for an open day at one of these top-tier secondary schools before deciding on which school is best for them!
